These questions have been asked in Congress a lot recently centered around cyber awareness.
We witnessed Mark Zuckerberg testify in front of the Senate as millions of Facebook users’ information was leaked to companies.
The Department of Defense has even created a Cyber Workforce that has been tasked with protecting our information.
Watching this spectacle has made many wary of their internet usage, especially parents of young children.
This brings up an even more important question: How do I keep my child safe online?
Education And Cyber Security
In the modern day and age, every child has access to a computer.
School children are required to utilize the internet for their daily assignments.
Children in kindergarten in some states submit assignments to their teachers in online forums with interfaces that mirror Facebook or a free online chat room.
Children are playing games with “friends” on Xbox Live and PlayStation Plus daily, chatting with people who may be total strangers.
The Department of Homeland Security states that children on average spend nearly 8 hours a day online, including their online usage at school!
This is nearly half of the time that your child is awake during the day.
With all of this information in front of us, it can be hard for a parent to discern what is legitimate and what is a threat to their child.
It can be even harder for your child to discern the difference between Facebook or one of their protected assignments they submit online at school.
What’s the first thing that you can do to keep your children safe online?
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the most important thing that you can do to help your child gain cyber awareness is to try and monitor where they are going online.
Children now face unique risks when using the internet.
What a parent might think is educational could put a child in danger of giving out personal details.
There are resources out there for parents, who want their child to learn how to utilize the internet, but who also want to keep them safe.
Many educational sources, such as the Department of Education, and various schools, for example, Connections Academy Online, recommend legitimate, online programs that can help your child with their education as well as keep them safe as they use the internet.
These sites, such as ABC Mouse and ABCya, are easy for the child to use by themselves and do not require them to put in personal information.
They are also easy for parents to navigate and see their educational value.
Utilizing these educational resources can be a benefit to your child, as long as you are monitoring their activity online.
Talk to your child about what they are doing as they explore online.
And, if you do have a young child that play multiplayer games, talk to the parents of your child’s friends.
Get their usernames so that you know who your child is speaking with online and when to shut it down if they are speaking with a stranger.
The simplest thing, such as sitting and watching your child play and playing with them can dramatically increase your child’s security online.
It may also be unreasonable to assume that you will be with your child at all moments of their life, another simple thing that you can do is to install or activate parental controls on any device that your child may use.
Talk to your child about the parental controls and explain to them why it is a necessity.
Many tablets come with parental controls preinstalled and they simply need to be activated.
For more information visit the website OnGuardOnline.gov, the website gives you a complete rundown of the different types of parental controls that are available including the ones listed below:
- Filtering and Blocking Parental Controls: These limit the content your child can see.
- Blocking Outgoing Content: These allow you to block your child from sharing personal data.
- Limiting Time Controls: These limit the amount of time your child can spend on certain devices or sites.
- And Monitoring Tools: These will alert a parent of where their child is going online without alerting the child.
As previously stated, let your child know why you have these controls on their devices and accounts.
Even at five, children will notice if their friend is able to access photos of Pennywise from IT when they are not.
Tell them that you are making sure that they will be safe online.
This is also a great way to begin a conversation on cyber awareness with your child.
Talking To Your Child About Cyber Awareness
Communicating with your child is extremely important.
You may be thinking, “But, isn’t a child to young to be learning about cybersecurity?”
According to US Department of Education, there is no age too young to help your child gain cyber awareness!
Start with the basics of staying safe online.
The company Netsmartz, which is run through the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, has created videos and presentations for children of all ages that will help you and your child talk about and understand web-based etiquette and definitions, such as cyberbullying and netiquette.
The website KidsHealth.org recommends that you connect the online world to the real world.
For instance, every parent has spoken with their children about the danger of strangers in the grocery store or the park.
Make sure that your child understands that, just as they shouldn’t be speaking to strangers in the real world, they should not be speaking with these strangers online, either!
Another important thing to do when speaking to your child is to let your child know the things that should not be shared online, including their:
- Name
- Address
- Phone Number
- Email Address
- Picture
- Or Any Password to Accounts
By helping your child know what shouldn’t be shared online, you can help to promote healthy, online social interactions.
In 2009, the Obama Administration released a new initiative to keep children safe on the internet called “Stop. Think. Connect.” through the Department of Homeland Security.
The initiative is dedicated to helping children learn how to safely navigate the internet.
They offer resources for parents to guide the conversation and offer tips for your child, as well.
As students enter school, most of them will get a school e-mail, which makes learning about online social interactions important.
Resources For Parents
You may be thinking, “That’s great! But, where do I start?”
There are quite a few resources out there for parents of young children who want to teach their children or learn more about cyber awareness.
The Department of Homeland Security is a great place to start.
While it sounds intimidating, DHS has dedicated teams that focus on cyber awareness for children and they offer a list of resources that can help you teach your children to be safe online.
Another government source that is beneficial is the Department of Education.
They have resources for both teachers and parents to help them keep their children safe online.
It’s also something that you can share with your child’s teacher if you feel that it would be beneficial to them in the classroom.
Their list of resources and tips is easily comprehensible and laid out in a format that parents can easily follow.
The NetSmartz Kids website is fantastic if you want to allow your child to learn independently, as well.
Run through the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, NetSmartz has videos and games that will help your child develop their own sense of cyber awareness along with the security that you help instill in them.
The resources for kids is leveled based on their age and they are easy to understand.
These resources can help you to guide your child to safe online practices and interactions as they get older.
It also helps you to know what to look for when you are with your child online to make sure they understand the safe practices that you have taught them.
While teaching your child about cyber awareness may seem overwhelming, there are a multitude of resources available for you as a parent or educator.
As children begin utilizing the web earlier and earlier in life, it is important that parents know how to best keep their children safe.
There is no age too early to begin helping your child to begin safe internet practices.
The earlier you begin teaching them to be safe, the better and stronger their interactions will be as they grow up in the cyber world.