How can I teach my child to be safe online?
It is very important that today’s parents understand as much as possible about the digital world and what their children are doing in it. We understand that this can be an overwhelming world especially for busy parents to make the time to make sense of it.
Below are three specific steps that can be very effective in keeping children safe online:
- Compile a list of websites that your children are allowed to visit and make sure they know why some websites are safer than others. Take time to sit with your child and find out what they are looking at and sites they are visiting online; doing so while they are young will make it easier to keep up that engagement when they are older.
- Give the reasons behind boundaries, time limits and parental controls. Be prepared to start re-evaluating the restrictions you introduce in line with your child’s maturity.
- Setting restrictions is an inbuilt setting on iPads. This simple but powerful tool allows parents to choose which features may be used. Content may be limited, or a list of specific websites may be created. Only these sites will be accessible when restrictions are enabled.
Dana Haidan, Head of Corporate Responsibility, Vodafone Qatar