If you have kids, unless you live without electricity – chances are your kids are connected. Kids knowing computers is fabulous. What’s not fabulous is not knowing what they are doing with their computers!
While we would love to think that our kids are innocent, that innocence is what can get them in trouble. We have to constantly watch our 7 and 9 year olds activities online.
Online Safety for Kids
Not that they are pursuing bad things, it’s that the bad things are pursuing them! As they get older, this whole not knowing what they are doing online business is going to get more intense.
Knowing What Your Kids are Texting and Doing Online
So what’s the secret to knowing what your kids do online?
As the video says, we no longer have a home phone in the kitchen that allows us to know what our kids are up to.
- Identification of your child’s social network profiles, even if they are hidden;
- Comprehensive social monitoring of Facebook, MySpace and Twitter;
- Android and Blackberry call history and text message monitoring
- Location monitoring; and
- Detailed daily activity reports and much more.
Telling Your Kids You Are Watching Them Online
I am so not down with spying on my kids because I want them to trust me. That said – it’s not spying if you tell your kids upfront that you have access to everything they do. Make them aware that you know all activity that goes online and on their phones.
When mistakes are made, have discussions about why choices were chosen and why you can’t do certain things. Kids just don’t get it. What you do online will live with your forever with your digital footprint. It’s the way the world is now!
