Being A Digital Citizen for Kids
Getting access to the internet and online games on smartphones is not new for children today since they primarily live in a digital community. Understanding and protecting what your children do online is vital to protecting them from the various risks and threats of this digital community.
Common Sense Education provides some of our favorite resources for educators on how to teach kids on how to be a responsible Digital Citizen and it has some great resources for families as well including:
Resources on Cyberbullying and more
Digital Passport games for kids
And here are a few more internet safety tips to effectively and safely help your child navigate the digital community from iCode.
Explain internet safety to your children. Teaching children and having an open dialogue with them about the potential online risks and how they could avoid them is a great way to begin.
Set some standard internet rules
Never give out personal information such as name, address, phone number, social security, etc., online.
Do not chat with strangers - this is a great rule for online and offline
Do not respond to hurtful or insulting messages
Reporting inappropriate messages to adults
Set time limits for being online
Supervise online activity. Keep your child's computer in the common area at your home to monitor their activity. You can also track the websites your child visits by checking their browser history.
Filtering out inappropriate content. Setting a filter on your computer can limit your child to browse inappropriate content. Turning on a safe search on Google or Google Images are one of the ways to get a head start for setting filters.
The internet can be an excellent resource for kids for not only communicating with their school and teachers, but also playing interactive online games and growing their skills. Allow them to enjoy the perks of living in a digital community, but ensuring their safety is also in our hands.
Stay safe online and offline,
iCode Team