For the last decade or less, smartphones and tablets have been considered killer devices; generally, we used to see these devices in children’s hands. The handheld video game devices are gone these days, but they have access to tablets and cell phones and use them independently, whether they have their own or they used to borrow from their parents. Mobile phones are in particular. The contemporary cell phones and tablet devices are user-friendly, having touch screen specs that allow even young children to navigate plenty of applications and web activities better than the typical laptops and desktop devices. In the modern age, children from a very young age watch movies, play video games, watch television, and do streaming activities, and are obsessed with social media.
Children over the years have developed digital skills that today it is very hard for parents to judge. Although parents are used to hearing about the online dangers for children, parental input is very necessary for the safety of the children. Most of the parents are concerned about online violence and pornography. So, parents want to supervise kids’ and teens’ activities very closely before a significant problem arises. Since technology has transformed in terms of one big screen to multiple small screens (from Television screens to smartphones, tablets connected to the internet). Are parents these days helpless to manage their children’s media usage? On the other hand, they cannot discourage children from using digital devices and social media. Is it the best solution for keeping children away from digital devices? However, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, parents should perform digital parenting effectively for the online safety of children.
According to the National Survey:
A National Survey of the Center on Media & Human Development, School of Communication, Northwestern University, technology has become advanced and widespread; mostly, parents don’t realize they have made parenting easier.
Key findings:
- Almost seven out of ten, 69% of the parents, say they have mobile phones in their homes
- 40% says they have tablet devices in their home
- 70% of the parents believe that technology has not made parenting easier, compared to 29% who believe technology makes parenting quite easier
- Almost 37% of parents provide digital devices like cell phones to kids to keep them quiet or calm
- 60% of parents give smartphones to children as a reward, and also take them away because of bad behavior
- 21% of the parents say they have concerns over the usage of media by their children
Most of the parents have negative thoughts when it comes to children playing video games compared to the usage of computer devices, mobile phones, and Television. However, the survey findings say that the majority of the parents have come to know that digital devices bring negative outcomes in terms of physical activities, behavior changes, and plenty of others alike.
- Almost 61% say in a survey that video games like PlayStation bring physical issues in children
- 58% of parents say Television also has negative effects on children
- 57% of parents say computer devices and 54% say cell phones, tablets, and cyberspace are the root cause behind children lacking physical activities
Parents are creating an immense sense of isolation among children by providing them with different sorts of media environments to grow up in, but not making them learn safe choices at all, using media. Therefore, online parenting is the only way for parents to make sure their online safety.
Protect Children Online Safety: Parenting Tips
Parents these days are running with bad thoughts, especially when they think about the online activities of their children and teens, and it is worrying. Therefore, we have come up with the best possible tips for parents on how to effectively digital parenting is possible effectively to ensure the safety of their kids online. The following are a few tips that can help you ensure the online safety of the kids.
Use the Internet alongside your children
Parents should be the first ones to let their child know about cyberspace. So, it would be very effective for parents to explore the internet with their children. Make your children and teens discover websites and apps that are positive, especially on children’s mobile phones, tablets, and computer devices’ web browsers. It will help our parents to experience both positive and negative alongside children, further easy for parents to make things understandable.
Make some ground rules for the use of the internet on a cell phone
Make some ground rules and tell your children to follow it strictly; this is the point where parents need to perform an authoritarian parenting style.
- Have a brief discussion with your child about how long they would like to use the internet, but cut the time in half
- Guide your child about privacy in terms of contact number, email, name, and address while using cyberspace on digital devices
- Briefly discuss how they should interact online while gaming, using social media, email, or while text messaging
- Make them agree on what sort of browsing activities they can perform on digital devices
- Explain why your children should not argue when older siblings spend more time on the internet and cellphones
Guide your children about online privacy
Children, while using the internet, can interact with people whom they don’t know in their real lives. So, parents should discuss how they should behave and why they should not provide any sort of information to strangers. Tell your children and teens they should be selective while sharing photos, videos, their name, and other activities on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and on other social media apps and websites. So, don’t share privacy in any situation with strangers, because stranger dangers are always there.
Discuss about stranger danger (Online Friendship)
There is no doubt that the use of the internet can lead youngsters to friends in the virtual world. Therefore, they should be very selective while making friends online. Stranger danger is one of the biggest dilemmas these days. So, they need to care about interaction with unknown people online. So, guide your children to ask their parents first when they want someone online to be their friend. Tell your children to follow the rule of when civility online is a duty and when it is a trap for children. So, children should back out instantly if they are not comfortable with someone online.
How much is too much? Don’t be critical while the child is exploring
It happens most of the time when children accidentally interact with the X-rated content. On the other hand, children intentionally search for porn material and take it as normal initially. So, you can use this attempt to guide them about their sex and make strict rules for further attempts to explore things like that.
Allow children to show you what they like online
Parents have to teach about the usage of the internet to the children, but at the same time, they should know what they like to do in cyberspace. So, you have to allow your children and give them enough confidence to share what they like to do online. It will help you perform digital parenting effectively to make sure your children are safe online.
Apart from all the tips we have discussed above there are plenty of questions that comes in parents minds, and they want to know the answer especially about the implementation of the digital parenting, why, when, where, what, who and How to perform digital parenting: Take a look!
Why Perform Digital Parenting Effectively?
While having interaction with most of the parents, they have concerns about the children’s online safety in terms of their health, fitness, and nutrition. On the other hand, technology in terms of cell phones, tablets, computer devices, and the internet has ruined all these things.
- Almost 46% of parents want to see their children fit
- 40% of the parents want to make their health, online safety, and nutrition a priority
- 38% of the parents have concerns over children’s social and emotional skills, whether in real –life or online
- 38% of the parents are worried about their children’s behavior, whether in real life or online
- 30% of the parents are worried about their children using media online on digital devices too much
As children grow up, it is very obvious that parents have concerns. Too much use of digital and other forms of media on Television, cell phones, tablets, and computer devices, in particular, produces serious issues for children, and they want to see their children active, healthy, and fit. However, excessive usage of the digital world and widespread technology has forced parents to think about the safety of children and to perform digital parenting to make sure children’s online safety. Parents these days show concerns over school grades, sleeping patterns, and activities on the web browser on cell phones, tablets, and computer machines connected to the internet.
So, when children grow enough, and you start getting reservations about your children’s behavior, health, fitness, and media usage on cell phones. This is why parents need to think about the online parenting of children to make sure their safety.
When to Perform Digital Parenting Effectively?
When kids and teens have their devices connected to cyberspace, and they start getting interested in social media apps and websites, this is when you have to perform digital parenting effectively. The risk of cyberbullying, stalkers, stranger dangers, and sexual predators is on the rise these days. If your children and teens have experienced bullying online, or they are using social media all the time with strangers, and are exposed to inappropriate content using mobile phones. Parents have to think about how to parent online to protect teens and tweens from bullies on the web, stalkers, and sexual predators.
Additionally, most of the victims don’t discuss anything with their parents and bear cyber bullying, get trapped by the stalkers and often get involved in harboring sexual fantasies on their digital devices, cell phones in particular. Parents need to judge their behavior with the family, screen time and obsession with social media. It will automatically tell parents something wrong with your child.
- 72% of the teens say they use Instagram every single day
- 71% of the teens say they remain online on Facebook all the time
- 60% of teens use Snapchat on their mobile phone devices
- 90% of teens are obsessed with social media usage & use it as a dating tool
Social media-obsessed teens often got bullied, stalked and share their photos and videos with strangers. That’s why parents have to perform digital parenting to protect children online.
What to do to Perform Digital Parenting Effectively?
Young kids and teens use social media, visit inappropriate content, and get involved in online dating by using their mobile phones and tablets. Therefore, parents need to get access to kids’ and teens’ digital devices. Parents have to use cell phone parental control software on their kids’ and teens’ digital devices. Once parents are enabled to install the mobile phone parental monitoring software on kids’ and teens’ devices, then it will be helpful for parents to monitor all the activities of their children. Additionally, parents need to make sure that children own the device of their parents, and they should be a monitor with the consent of the target device user. It will bring trust among the children and parents will be able to guide them on what to do and what not to do.
Who can Perform Digital Parenting Effectively?
Parents are the ones and guardians can perform digital parenting. Other than that, it would be considered intrusive and illicit surveillance. So, parenting online is for the parents and the guardians only. Other than that, no one can use any sort of software tool in the name of parenting online. Parents can monitor their tweens’ devices without their consent of they own the devices. However, when it comes to teens, parents should consider taking consent; however, they can perform parenting online if things have gone worse.
How to Perform Digital Parenting Effectively?
Parent’s juts need to get their hands on the best cell phone parental control software by visiting the web. Additionally, they should make subscriptions online and then get the credentials via email. Furthermore, get physical access to the target device of your children and get started with the process of installation. Additionally, when you have completed the process of installation, activate it on the target phone. Use the credentials and get access to the online web portal where you can visit multiple tools. Use the tools and keep an eye on your children’s and teens’ online activities to the fullest.
Conclusion:
Mobile parental control is the best tool for parents that enables them to perform online parenting on kids and teens activities that they use to perform on their digital devices. Now keep an eye on your children’s social media activities, cell phone call logs, and text messages in real-time and make sure your children are not in danger or heading towards something risky.
