Your Guide to Parenting in The Digital Age

There is a saying that goes, “Better parenting is making wise decisions,” but how can you make wise decisions for your kids if you do not understand their lifestyle? This generation is what we call Digital Kids. Philosophers and historians are calling them Generation Z. They literally live their lives digitally, on the internet.

They belong to a totally different world, so how can you be a better parent to them? The dangers on the Internet are so alarming that you can’t them for granted or your kids may suffer greatly. Risks include cyber-bullying, online predators, sexting, exposure to hardcore pornography, online thefts – amongst many others. These dangers can cause psychological damage to kids, which they can carry into adulthood.

To start with, you need to know how to use the Internet. You can do that by educating yourself via books, tapes, or a video guide to the world wide web. This is the basic way to make sure you understand the platform your kids are using – and you may even come to like it yourself.  

Once you have a handle on the medium, the next step is a child-parent conversation about online security. Here you should discuss with your child the dangers associated with their online life. You should set limits and tell your kids to report anything that seems unusual or uncomfortable. Tell them they should not talk to strangers or accept anything sent from someone they do not know.

You should make them aware that, like in the outside world, not everyone is their friend or has the right motives online. As a result, they should never disclose their real name, school name, house address, passwords or phone numbers. Also, they should alert you if anyone begins requesting that information.

While the internet has a lot to offer, you can’t leave your kid unattended online. Especially if they’re young, steer them away from online game chat rooms as this is a huge place where online predators thrive. If they do begin using them, the rooms they visit should be reviewed and approved by you.

Another option available is to get an online parental control app that checks your kid’s device and gives a report on what is happening on his or her phone. This helps you check that they are talking to safe people and visiting safe websites.

The Internet has many resources that kids can learn a lot from, but there is a dark and potentially damaging side. Follow these steps and you can make the right decisions for your kids online.  

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Ava Sage is an e-safety expert from Chicago. She is currently working as an independent contributor for parental control app mSpy.com.

The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog contributor’s. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Writers may have conflicts of interest, and their opinions are their own.

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