There are a few things in life that make me VERY glad my children are still little enough for me to have a lot of control over their lives. When we get a scary message from school about someone potentially hanging around the gates, I’m glad I’m always there to pick them up, when I read about children being bullied online I’m glad I can lock down our internet abled devices, and also glad no one has yet discovered YouTube.
My children might be a little over protected, but I’m not ashamed of that, in fact I’m glad. They have plenty of time in the future to surf the net and I’m not in a hurry to give them unsupervised access just yet.
I am however, aware that the time will come when they want to ‘Google’ things on their own without my help and that worries me a lot, which is why I was happy to see that AVG are creating a series of 12 Internet Safety Guides. The first 6 are now live on AVG’s site, but the most interesting for me is the Online Safety Guide For Parents. This shares an overview of parental concerns, from viral threats to cyberbullying, and gives parents the confidence and tools necessary to navigate the digital world with their children. Despite my husband and I being very IT literate and internet savvy, we still need help and advice to make our internet safe for our children, which is something I’d like to do sooner rather that later.
It is up to grownups to decide how far to extend the leash, depending on the child’s age, maturity, self-awareness and capabilities. But what about when kids are with friends? And how much of their, and your, lives are you happy for them to share with the world?
What do you think? Do you worry about Internet Safety for your children?
The guide from AVG is FREE to download.
I’m in the same boat as you, my daughter’s too young at the moment to have internet access without me present but it’s certainly something that concerns me for the future.
I shall take a look at this, thanks for sharing.
Liz Burton recently posted..Zone your home energy and cut your fuel bills
I must admit I love the internet but am really wary of just what my children might have access to once they grow older.
Mammasaurus recently posted..25. How Does Your Garden Grow?
I do worry about my children being online. They seem so tech savvy but they are still innocent and naive and definitely need guidance and monitoring ….. especially as my eldest has found Youtube!!
Donna @ Little Lilypad Co recently posted..Sleep is for the weak!
I know, and it would be quite easy to come across something unsuitable without meaning to, wouldn’t it?
Thank you I will have a look at that guide. I am very much for educating my children whilst I do have control, so that when they are old enough to go alone (like my oldest) then they know how to make the right choices.
Pinkoddy recently posted..Password Security – How Safe is Yours?
Yes, so am I, and the guide looks great!
I must admit, along with a whole host of other things, this is another stage that I am dreading. I do hope, with the help of posts like this, I will manage to stumble my way through it effectively and keep them safe.
Mum of One recently posted..The Little Black Dress
me too 🙁
This is excellent news – thank you very much. My 8yo is really into music and I had no idea the kind of stuff that lurks on YouTube and in the easily clickable way it does until he would have a dabble after listening to a song! He is now banned, but I will gratefully study these guides 🙂
Anya from Older Single Mum and The Healer recently posted..The Making of Harry Potter Actual Studios Tour.