KEEP CHILD AND THEIR PRIVACY SAFE ONLINE
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If your family is locked up at home during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, your sons and daughters are likely to spend much more time online. School, talks with friends and grandparents, even music classes, are now being conducted online.
Staying connected helps children and adolescents reduce the impact of this new (temporary) normal and encourages them to continue with their lives. But they also present new challenges for each parent. How can you maximize everything the Internet has to offer, while minimizing the potential harm? It is not an easy balance in a normal day, especially when faced with a health crisis like COVID-19.5 Ways You Can Help Keep Your Kids and Teens Safe Online
1. Keep them safe with open communication
Have an honest dialogue together
with your children about who they convey with and the way. Make sure they
understand the value of kind and supportive interactions and that aggressive,
discriminatory, or inappropriate contact is never acceptable. If your children
experience any of these, encourage them to immediately tell you or a trusted
adult. Be alert if your son / daughter seems to be annoyed or reserved with
online activities or if he / she is experiencing cyberbullying.
Work with your child to establish
rules about how, when, and where devices can be used.
2. Use technology to protect them
Check that your child's device is
running the latest antivirus
and software, and that the privacy setting is enabled. Keep webcams covered
when not in use. For younger children, tools like parental controls, including
safe search, can help keep online experiences positive.
Be wary of free online
educational resources. Your son / daughter should never have to provide a photo
or their full name to use these resources. Remember to check your privacy
settings to minimize data collection. Help your child learn to stay personal
information private, especially from strangers.
3. Spend time with them while they're online
Create opportunities for your
child to have safe and positive online interactions with friends, family, and
yourself. Connecting with others is more important than ever at this point, and
this will be a superb opportunity for you to model kindness and empathy in your
"virtual interactions."
Help your child recognize and
avoid misinformation and age-inappropriate content that can increase anxiety
about COVID-19. Many digital resources from credible organizations such as
UNICEF and the World Health Organization are available for you and your son,
daughter and adolescent to learn about the virus together.
Spend time with your son,
daughter, and teen to identify age-appropriate apps, games, and other online
entertainment.
4. Encourage healthy habits online
Promote and monitor good behavior
online and in video calls. Encourage your sons and daughters to be kind and
respectful to their classmates, to be aware of the clothes they are wearing,
and to avoid joining video calls from a bedroom.
Familiarize yourself with the
school's policies and helplines for reporting cyberbullying or inappropriate
content online.
As children and adolescents spend
more time online, they may be exposed to more advertising that can promote
unhealthy food, gender stereotypes, or age-inappropriate material. Help them
recognize online advertisements and take the opportunity to identify together
what is wrong with some of the negative messages they see.
5. Let them have fun and express themselves
Spending time at home can be a
great opportunity for your children and teens to use their voices online, to
share their views, and to support those in need during this crisis.
Encourage your child to take
advantage of digital tools that get them up and walking, such as exercise
videos for children and teens and video games that require physical movement. Remember
to balance online recreation with offline activities, including time outside,
if possible.
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