Privacy, Security & Virus Information
Who is Protecting Your Child Online?
Your child is playing quietly in the next room. They are eating a nutritious snack, breathing filtered air, sitting in a safe home, and secure in the knowledge that you are just a few feet away. What could go wrong?
The age of the internet has meant redefining our conceptions of risk when it comes to our children. Even though they may physically be within an arm’s reach, they could digitally be thousands of miles away, and vulnerable to many threats.
Think about it like this . . . If you were in a movie theatre, you would expect that your child would not be exposed to potentially damaging images such as pornography or overt violence. If you were in a store, you would intervene if your child were approached by a menacing stranger. If you were driving past the schoolyard, you would expect a teacher to protect your child from bullying. We expect that our efforts, and the efforts of society, will protect our children from danger and risk. However, who is protecting them online?
There are many excellent strategies for parents to implement in their home. For example, it is recommended that parents keep computers in public zones of the house, such as the living room, rather than in the children’s’ bedrooms. Parents can also work to stay up-to-date with the latest online trends, such as setting up their own Facebook profile and engaging with their children online. You can read a detailed discussion of these strategies here.
As wonderful and helpful as these strategies are, they may not go far enough. Even the most vigilant parent cannot police their child every minute of the day. We need to give children an opportunity to explore and grow, but this has to be achieved within a safe and structured environment. So, what is a parent to do?
There are now some amazing innovations in internet safety technology. These products allow parents to set up protective borders around their children while they are online. Think of them as safety nets that will catch your young one, should they venture too far.
These safety products allow you, the parent, to block adult and otherwise inappropriate sites, monitor chatting for dangerous dialogue, and stop the downloading of offensive content. By chaining off the dangerous parts of the internet, these products allow you to give your children the freedom to explore – safely.
Products that filter internet content are powerful tools in the fight against internet dangers. However, these products do not take the place of an involved parent.
< Back
RSS