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Kids Home? Rethink Their Digital Security or it Will Bite You

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If you had asked me a few months ago what I felt about “screen time” and kids, I would have told you that I wouldn’t give my kids their own devices or allow social media accounts until they were 15. But things have changed. Now, I’m happy to let the kids on the family tablet, and even allow them to use things like FaceTime, games, and email. Why? Because I want to make sure that they have some type of connection to the outside world.

However, this didn’t happen without some ground rules, not only to keep the kids safe, but to make sure they don’t totally fall headfirst into cyberspace. Here’s some tips:

No Social Media

Oh you didn’t think I was gonna give you a pass did you? No, my 14-year-old is still not on social media, and she doesn’t complain about it, she doesn’t miss it, and she’s better off for it. First of all, it’s a time suck, it’s often a cesspool of BS, misinformation, disinformation, and just plain mean-ness.

Sure my kids might get the occasional TikTok video from one of their friends, but they don’t have the app, they’re not spending any time on it, and while they might learn a TikTok dance or two, they’re certainly not recording one and posting it online.

Teach Your Kids to Respect Digital Devices

There are a number of ways that you can do this, including setting a rule that they must ask permission before they use the device or go online. By doing this, you are making them conscious of their actions.

Set Rules on When They Can Have Access to Certain Apps or Devices

Another thing you can do is make sure that you set rules about when your kids can access certain devices or aps. For instance, maybe make a rule that they must use devices in common areas, or they can only use game apps after dinner. Whatever the case, you should be checking in on what they are doing.

Create a Schedule

Only allow your kids to use devices when you are available to help or when you know they can’t get in trouble. Allow them to watch Netflix while you are in an online meeting but bring the remote with you.

Create an Agreement

Also, think about a “tech agreement” for your kids. If they break the rules, there will be consequences, just like they have with other rules in your home.

Discuss Online Privacy and Tone

One of the most important things to do is discuss online privacy and tone. Kids don’t always realize that what goes on the internet can stay there forever. Suggest, perhaps, telling your kids not to do anything they wouldn’t do or say with grandma in the room. It works.

Tell Them Your Expectations

Talk to your kids about what you are comfortable with…or not…when they are online. For instance, if you don’t want them talking to strangers, there are email programs that allow you to approve and email that is sent and received. There are similar chat programs.

Is it Time to Talk About Pornography?

This might be the perfect time to talk about pornography, too. Experts say conversations about this should start around kindergarten. To minimize the chances your kid will access it, use parental controls or kid-friendly browsers.

Understand that Kids Will be Kids

Finally, take a deep breath and realize that kids will be kids. As long as they are being safe and polite, allowing them access to these things might be the best way to get through these nationwide quarantines.

ROBERT SICILIANO CSP, is a #1 Best Selling Amazon author, CEO of CreditParent.com, the architect of the CSI Protection certification; a Cyber Social and Identity and Personal Protection security awareness training program.

Your Kids Digital Lives Are in Shambles

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If you have a teenager, you probably have a battle in play: do you or do you not manage your teens mobile devices. Though some parents see this as an invasion of their child’s privacy,(which, frankly, is stupid) there are many reasons why you should start managing what they are doing online.

Robert Siciliano Quora BreachSome of these reasons make a lot of sense. Mainly, what your kid does at age 17 and under, is your responsibility, or in essence, your fault if they screw up. If they send a nude photo, that’s child porn, and that will come back to bite YOU and them.

And, the research data is out there, for instance, a teenager who has limits on how long they can sit on their phone will be better prepared to get into the real world because they can focus and unplug. Many people believe and research strongly suggests that too much screen time leads to addiction, which could definitely negatively affect the life of the child. There is also the fact that spending too much time on one activity, such as watching endless YouTube videos, causes other responsibilities to suffer. This leads to poor time management skills.

Time management is crucial for a child to develop in the younger years. Even the CEO of Microsoft believes that people are spending too much time focused on the screen. Microsoft actually did a study that showed the average attention span of a human is only about 8 seconds; shorter than a goldfish.

What does this tell you as a parent? It means that it might be time to teach your kids how to better manage their time and to avoid distractions from their cell phones. The best results start when they are younger, but it could still be worth it trying to enforce this as they get older. If not, you could see that your kids are being passed by others as they get older; others who know how to focus their attention.

Most parents don’t enforce these types of things because they don’t want to fight with their kids over it. They know that there is going to be a battle, and they are probably fighting their kids about other things, too, so they don’t want to add onto that.

If you are thinking about doing this, but having second thoughts, don’t think about it as a punishment for your child. Instead, think about it as time that they will have to focus on other things. You also might want to try it yourself and spend more time with them. Though you might not even realize it, many adults have issues with too much screen time, too, and this change could be positive for your entire family.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of Identity Theft Privacy: Security Protection and Fraud Prevention: Your Guide to Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft and Computer Fraud. See him knock’em dead in this Security Awareness Training video.