These days it is not easy for us to accept that our children can wander the streets, go to a mall or even visit their friends without supervision. We are so accustomed to knowing where our kids are all the time with the increasing use of smartphones and while these devices come in handy to keep your children safe and in constant contact with you, technology can also expose them to dangers online too. No parent can monitor their child round the clock and many parents are tempted to take the easy way and entirely block online access to the children.
The generation today is more tech savvy than it ever was and we know how fast technology evolves having grown up with it. Our children are experts on the know-how of electronics and even with all their technical knowledge they are not old enough to have the experience necessary to keep them safe from online predators and other dangers lurking behind the screens.
The internet is no-doubt a valuable tool and is an integral part in our lives, which means blocking their access to it will only end up in making them lack in one of the most important knowledge to have in the present day. What will help them though is that we assist them in navigating safely.
Almost half of the children between the ages 12-15 and ¼ of children aged 8-11 own smartphones today. In the last couple of years tablet ownership of children as young as 3 years has also doubled in number. There are over 1.6 million apps that exist for mobile devices, so some general guidelines that you can follow to keep your child safe online are crucial.
Children are more accustomed to using social media network and smartphone apps for chatting and sharing multimedia content than using a mailing system. You child is most probably using Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, Kick or networks like Ask.fm. The more your child reveals about their life on these sites, the more your house loses its protective walls of privacy and this will give plenty and more information to strangers of doubtful motives. Their daily habits and locations can be easily traced from their daily posts, pictures and location marks. This is where the problem arises.
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