In today's fast-paced cyber world, knowing what our children are doing is becoming more and more difficult. Technology changes faster than we can fathom. Good new, parents! We do not have to keep up with how to use these social media sites and apps. What we do need to do is be aware of what apps our kids are using and how we can monitor what they are doing on those apps. It just takes one click to make a picture or a video go viral.... we must educate our children on the positives and negatives on social media while at the same time monitoring how they use the apps and what they post.
We have provided some safety tips for you, we also have a few links that talk about some common apps that we see our students using. This is not the end of the list it could go one for pages. Talk with your child, monitor their devices, and be present in their cyber lives. Let them know that you are aware of what they are using and how they are using it. These conversations with your child could make all the difference!
- Educate yourself first about the devices your children are using and the social media platforms they are accessing.
- Be a role model for proper, in real life and online, model responsible behavior for your child.
- Rules, rules and more rules! Set firm limits on how much time your children are allowed to spend online, which devices they can use,where they are allowed to use them, and the consequences they will face if any of the rules are broken. Write it down, post it somewhere and enforce both the rules and consequences!
- Make sure you have all passwords to social networking websites, and that your children know what to do if there is a problem.
- If your child has an app, get the same app and make sure you follow your child on that app.
- Place computers in a central area of the home. Do not allow computers or other electronic devices to be used in bedrooms.
- Monitor cell phone usage directly through the carrier or using third-party software. (There are lots of them for a few dollars a month).
- Be blunt, but age appropriate, about the consequences of some types of online behavior.