Do you know what your child is doing when they’re online? Do you know what sites they visit? Kids are growing up in a digital world. They have access to the internet at all times of day and night, and they’re often on their devices with friends. This means that you need to know about internet safety. Kids need to be as safe online as they are offline.

Internet Safety What You Need to Know to Keep Your Child Safe 

When the pandemic happened, most school systems had to switch to a whole new learning platform. Teachers had to use the internet for daily instruction. As a parent, you observed your child using the internet each day.

The internet is an excellent place for children to explore and learn new things. But there are safety precautions you should be aware of. 

Plagiarism

Plagiarism or information taken by someone else can be a huge concern with your child’s academic performance. 

For example, in middle school and high school, most students have to research and write academic papers. When writing academic papers, it is essential to ensure that they use credible sources and correct information to avoid plagiarism or incorrect information. 

Websites like Wikipedia present information that is opinionated or changed by others. They must use websites that have credible information when they are doing their academic work. 

Credible Websites

• Dimensions (high school/college researching) 
• National Geographic for Kids 
• BrainPop 

Youtube and Internet Safety

Youtube can be a great source of information for students and teachers. However, sometimes Youtube can present safety concerns. 

For example, Youtube does a lot of ad promotion.

These ad promotions can contain:

• Inappropriate information
• Viruses
• Redirecting links. 

Although most school computers provide security software to block students from getting on sites, you want your own computer to avoid those things as a parent. 

Youtube also can contain inappropriate topics that you may feel your child should not watch or have access to. To practice safe online practices, you can put preventative measures in by blocking certain websites.

Identity Protection

As a parent, your children are your world. In public, you protect your children and look after them. However, it’s also important to have preventative measures and internet safety protocols to protect your child on the internet. 

Many websites contain popups, ads, links, or opportunities for students to interact with their websites and put in their personal information. 

As a parent, it’s essential to understand that some websites can quickly get your information or your child’s information.

Create a Family Wi-Fi Network and Password

This will prevent strangers from accessing inappropriate content or monitoring their activity without permission. It also ensures that all devices connected to this network are protected by antivirus, spyware protection, firewall software, etcetera.

You can create a family wireless network using parental controls features found in most routers and modems. Don’t forget to use strong passwords! The password should be at least 8 characters long and contain numbers, upper case letters, and lowercase letters as well as symbols like !@

Ways to be Proactive about Internet Safety

As a parent, there are many opportunities to promote internet safety within your home. For example, websites like google provide interactive internet safety games and information for students and parents. 

Websites like the ones listed previously offer accurate and credible information for children to use in their research. 

Also, Using parental locks or controls may help prevent identity theft or inappropriate information on the internet and youtube. Often, these parental controls allow parents to:

• Monitor the websites their children visit
• Set specific times of internet access
• Block certain popup ads 
• Block possible virus-filled links. 

Additional Resources for Parents

If you need more information on internet safety, reach out to us, and we would be happy to help.

It’s up to us as parents or guardians to talk with kids regularly about internet safety. Share this blog post with your friends, family, and co-workers to spread the word about how we can all help keep our children safe online. 

Here are additional resources you may find helpful as parents: 

• Educational Resources Online
• Academic Regression in School What You Need to Know as a Parent
• How to Empower Young Girls and Build Confidence
• How to Improve Reading Comprehension With Questions

Do you have a child that needs one on one assistance?  

We offer one-on-one special education tutoring that can be done from anywhere the student is! Why? Because our special education experts conduct their sessions online!

Get started with a free consultation today!