Internet Safety: Do You Know What Your Kids are Watching?
Internet safety is an important topic for 21st century parents, as we navigate the online world with our children. As adults we all know how easy it is to get sucked down the Internet rabbit hole, as one quick Google search leads us to click on one link, and then another, and another, until we find that we’ve strayed very far from what we were originally looking for. For grown-ups this is an annoying time-waster. For children, however, this is a sobering prospect. A four-year-old can easily wind up seeing something scary or inappropriate by innocently clicking around online. What’s a parent to do?
Internet Safety and Online Videos
YouTube is amazing. According to their own site stats more than one billion users visit the site each month, watching more than six billion hours of video. There’s more material on the site than you could ever watch, with 100 hours of video uploaded every minute. Some of that material is great, with many popular children’s networks and TV shows operating their own channels. Unfortunately, though, much of the material is just not for kids, plain and simple, and with the way that suggested videos pop up it’s easy for a child to start on something innocent and end up on something not-so-innocent. While there are parental controls you can put in place, they don’t always work.
One better option for online videos is to visit dedicated sites, where the material has been curated, and videos aren’t linked to outside channels. Some sites offer a selection of free videos, while others charge a fee. The benefit to paying to access online videos is that they typically have a larger selection of videos to choose from, and offer more advanced controls. Also, they are less likely to run advertising alongside videos. For instance, Kidoodle.TV allows parents to set time limits and customize playlists, and the site is ad-free.
Monitoring Internet Usage
When it comes to Internet safety, staying involved and keeping an eye on what your kids are watching is of course key. However, as parents, we all understand that occasionally we have to do things like clean, cook dinner or get some work done. When kids are watching TV or online videos, those are often the moments we can do a few chores in another room. Make sure to check in regularly, though, so that you know what your kids are doing. For young children, checking out the browser history will also give you peace of mind, and confirm that your little one hasn’t strayed down the Internet garden path.
As children get older, it’s important that you discuss Internet safety with them, and make your family rules clear. For instance, may they log on themselves, or do they have to ask you first? What sites may they visit? What information may they post? Start the conversation early, so that your kids understand the importance of Internet safety before they start venturing out on their own.
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