Internet safety now is like road safety.If we don’t teach them to navigate the internet safely we are not doing our job.

But just like there is an age for driving license ,there needs to be an age for diving into the maze of the internet.Even when my child knows the theory and practical side of waiting for the traffic signal to be pedestrian safe and cross at zebra crossings,I am not letting her out on the roads to cross in heavy traffic right now and neither will most parents.

But the problem is unlike roads the internet is right in your home.In your device.The more “smart” or digital your home environment is,the more likely your child knows how to switch on the Google mini faster than you can.Plus it’s important for education in many ways.

That means you and I must have an Action plan.

No.1 Because life is not predictable amd even when we know the theory and practical aspect of stuff,real life experiences is the only thing which makes you ready to take on the world.

Like I have a driver’s license and once upon a time I planned to go driving leisurely down the southern avenue roads enjoying the gentle breeze from the green cover .But the last ten years in a small town put a very effective stop to that.Most people don’t know (or care)about traffic rules,right of way ,safe driving.There are hardly any zebra crossings,signals or traffic police .The world is full of back to back empty e- rickshaws (sometimes as many as twelve) clogging up roads vying for passengers.Small town India is blessed to have electric vehicles(less air pollution) but they make driving a nightmare(more noise pollution)with underage, unlicensed, untrained,drivers .Excuse the worry rant .

But that’s exactly the reason I knew I needed to teach my kid to be internet savvy.Possible eye problems because of early screen exposure, made me doubly careful from the very first.

No.2 Internet is a blessing in many ways .It’s all about how you choose to use it.Just like everything else.As a parent teaching my child to choose the right path(especially when I am not around to guide her),is what my parenting mantra is about.Because children will be children and they are not born with internet safety protocols hard- coded in their brain.

When COVID struck,ability to go online was a savior. But we needed ground rules .

7 House Rules for Safe Internet Practice

1.Safe Secure Internet from a reliable provider.Wifi is password locked .

2.Kaspersky Internet Security on all out devices.

3.We occasionally use our Google mini but it’s not a tech-y home.I get jittery with too many devices lying around .So we always put away the laptop after the work is over .The cameras on devices are not left running indefinitely.

4.We haven’t given any personal internet device to our child.She has supervised online screen time during certain classes and whatever she watches online we try to keep it supervised.Not more than 3 hours in a day.We watch child friendly content on OTT .Regional content is a savior.One of our favorite The Eken(Bengali detective series) n Hoichoi ,NCIS on Amazon Prime(we fast-forward the adult parts),the Good doctor(Prime) are some of our favorites as a family.

5. I avoid saying you can’t do this etc.I try to give a better option ,like let’s do some craft together or let’s make some clothes for the dolls by seeing videos.That way it’s not a strict no and less staring at screen.We may occasionally even try gamefied quizzes , fun content which teaches us something .

6.I encourage calling up friends to chat rather than texting.No unsupervised Whatsapp Group .Except for the one for school or online educational activity (where teachers and parents are added to the group), we exit any group she is added by school mates.

7.It is understood that social media is an adult-only platform and she never had a social media account .But she does contribute as an author,artist,video maker on my blog and she is great at it.

But its a lot of work for me and my hubby keeping a watch.Supervision is time consuming. I wish there was an easier way for safe Internet for kids.

The Role of Tech in keeping kids safe

Responsible, sustainable, technology will remember to keep internet safe .Tech has the ability to secure it .It should be done from the design stage itself. Because safe Internet for kids keep the future secure.

Safe online experience for children is both about time spent and quality of the internet consumed. You cannot shut your eyes to the harm of uncontrolled quantity and poor quality .

About parental control tools

There are at best poor parental control tools in the market.That’s because as kids grow older it gets more difficult to outsmart them.The only thing that will work (I hope) is understanding the issue at hand It’s not just about control ,it’s safety first.Prevent harm .

It’s okay right now because my daughter is a voracious book reader and likes playing outdoors.She is disciplined and we have deals in place about screen time.Alternative to screen is important if you are serious about implementing ground rules for anything.

About Parenting

In this world of mixed messages,this blog post is not meant to be a lecture.Honestly I feel confused while trying to decide what’s good and what’s not.Everything shifts with your life experience. That’s called perspective .Some of it is also influenced by genetics.That’s the hard coding.So each parent and each child is unique.Your parenting style,choices are unique.It’s a human interaction, reaction happening in real-time, which will change both of you forever.

One thing I suggest is to walk the talk.

Do not share their photos,videos online in any social media or public platform to avoid AI stuff and deep fake.In this podcast I talked about this very issue.

Definitely not share their full face videos online as influencer accounts. It creates the kind of digital footprint you want to avoid.

It’s okay to share their artwork or stories if they want to share it .However, their identity needs to be kept safe for ethical,legal, and security reasons.

This post is a part of Happinetz – #SafeInternetForKids