I love technology. I have spend many a hours browsing through hundreds of Facebook posts,watching several hours worth of you tube videos and googling every weird comment or concern I have on a daily basis. Now, with that being said I feel I am a fairly savvy computer user. I spend much of my time playing computer games and browsing the internet but I learning these tools when the they were just getting started. I wasn't exposed to all the crazy people like today's day and age kids are. I never had to worry about whether my snap chat picture would get sent around the while school or if that person on the chat room could find me just based on my IP address. I never had to worry about these issues because they were none existent. It is imperative that every child who has access to internet know the tools beyond virus protection for your computer. We all need to take our part in protecting our children and this is done by being aware of what our children are doing when they are online. There are many services you can use to help beyond the looking over the shoulder technique because lets be honest, we do not have the time to watch everything every child is doing. And a majority of the time we are allowing them on a device to give us parents a chance to get other things done, like the 10 loads of laundry we haven't started yet. Here are some tips on what resources you can use.
1. For a child's mobile device you can install apps like ourpact or qustodio to monitor everything from what your child is using app wise to how much and what times you want them to use there devices. They do cost but honestly it is worth it. I have used both services and its best to do your research and find the best one that works for your situation
2. For a child using the computer you can use applications like webwatcher or eBlaster. Again they have a fee but you are able to view snapshots of what they are viewing as well as what sites they visit and even put in key words to get notification of if entered.
3. General online game play and specific apps. There has been a lot of here say lately about Reblox and how adults are entered this child's online game and using the chat function to put children in sexual positions and encouraging them to continue. The simplest way to avoid this is to disable any and all chat functions on these apps. Prevention is key here. Also most apps now a days have a Parental Guide reference and I hate to be that person but I actually have a 12 year old that does not have a Facebook. They put these standards in place for a reason and we need to use them.
4. Last, there are open word games like Minecraft for example that offer open servers which means a child can type in the http address in the server line and join a open world to play mini games in Minecraft. The down side is they are aloud to chat and add friends to there accounts and although it is somewhat monitored meaning you can be banned of say curse words they is no real way around it. My suggestion to you is the open door open room policy. This means have your computers in a public space and accessible for you to view at will.
Always go over what is expected of your child. I made a list of rules and printed in out, laminated it and placed in over the computer. I had each of my children read it aloud and confirm that they understood the rules and explained to them what would happen if they broke that rule.
No comments:
Post a Comment