Safe Search Kids - Education, Parenting, Internet Safety for All

Cybersecurity is a growing topic of conversation, and one of the most important things parents can do is start talking about cybersecurity with their kids.  There are so many things that go into it—from how to communicate with your kids about it to the best ways to teach them about the basics of cybersecurity and overall risk management.

We’ve put together this handy guide to help you talk to your kids about cybersecurity.

These tips will help you start teaching cybersecurity to kids easily and effectively.

So, What Is Cybersecurity?

Simply put, this is a term that refers to computer security or protecting computers and other devices from being hacked. It includes things like installing antivirus software on your computer, changing your passwords regularly, and making sure all of your software is up-to-date.  In most cases, it is a part of a company’s risk management plan a lot can be learned from this for families and schools like.

Cybersecurity is very important because it keeps our personal information safe. If someone gets hold of your information and uses it against you or steals from you, then they can really ruin your life! They can also use it for illegal purposes like identity theft or tax fraud.

When talking to kids about such a tricky subject, include examples like:

• Don’t click links in emails from people you don’t know
• Always log out of websites when you’re done using them
• Set up two-factor authentication on all accounts where possible

By teaching your kids about online safety and showing them how to protect themselves on the internet, you can help prevent them from falling victim to identity theft, online fraud, and other dangerous situations.

5 Guidelines for Talking to Kids About Cybersecurity

Whether your kids are old enough to use the internet or not, it’s important to teach them. The sooner the better! Here are 5 essential tips for teaching cybersecurity to kids.

1. Teach Your Children Why They Need to be Safe and Responsible While Using the Internet

It’s not enough just to tell your kids that they should be safe online—they need to understand why they should be safe and how they can stay safe.

You can even create a small poster with some key points that you can hang in their room or on their desk so that it’s always in front of them when they are working on their computer or smartphone.

2. Create a Cybersecurity Club at School or at Home

Such clubs are great ways for kids to learn about cybersecurity, practice what they’ve learned, and make new friends who share similar interests.

Encourage your child to join a club where other kids will be talking about cyber threats and learning more about it together. This will help them learn from other people who are also interested in this topic, as well as from each other.

3. Make It Interactive and Hands-On

One of the best ways to teach anything is by making it as interactive and hands-on as possible. When you make an activity fun and exciting, kids are more likely to want to learn more about it—and they’ll remember what they learned much better than if they simply sat in front of a screen and listened passively.

Therefore, try making cybersecurity hands-on by having your child create their own code or by having them write down what they think should be done differently on an app or website. When you make learning interactive like this, it helps build skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity that will serve your child throughout their life.

4. Show Them Examples of What to Do in Real-life

When talking about exact threats like spam emails or phishing scams, show your kids examples of real-life attacks so they understand what happens when someone tries something like this on them.

And be sure to explain to them how they should respond. This way, they will be able to see what happens when people don’t take proper precautions when using the internet.

5. Make It Fun and Lighthearted

Security is a serious issue, but it doesn’t have to be scary. Instead, try making cybersecurity a lighthearted activity. One of the best ways to teach kids about cyber safety is through play. For example, try taking them on a scavenger hunt through the house or neighborhood to find hidden “hacker” signs.

Parting Shot

We hope you found these tips helpful, and that you’ll use them to talk to your kids about cybersecurity. If you’re still not confident starting the conversation with your kids, here are some best practices:

• Explain to kids that the Internet is amazing but there are some risks.
• Encourage your kids to tell you if they come across something inappropriate online.
• Use the correct terminology.
• Identify the red flags in cyber bullying and explain what to do in a cyberbullying situation.
• Explain to your child why they shouldn’t share their personal information with strangers online.
• Don’t assume that your kids already know about this topic — start from square one whenever possible.

Kids are growing up in a digital world and will be exposed to cybercrime as soon as they turn on their first computer. It’s up to us as parents to teach them about all threats in an age-appropriate way so they can navigate the internet safely and confidently.

Social gaming networks are now the primary way gamers play and interact with each other. Playing video games online with others provide fun and improve social skills as gamers need to connect, engage in discussions, and share strategies.  It also helps develop team player skills.

However, social networking for gamers poses some risks to cyber security as anyone can contact other gamers there. In this way, online predators can potentially harass your children and teenagers. Cyberbullying is also an issue with kids play with those who are not kind.

This blog aims to guide parents so they can ensure safe gaming on social platforms for their children by following some important safety tips.

Different Social Gaming Platforms

There are different social gaming platforms, each with its own rules, chat room, privacy, strategy, etc. Most social games are designed for education and fun. Each game developer team invests a lot to promote these games to mass people.

Popular platforms for social gaming and networking are as follows:

• Stream
• PlayStation Network
• Xbox Live
• Nintendo Network
• Discord
• Twitch
• Google Play Games
• Gameloft Live
• Game Center.

Risks of Social Networking and Gaming

41% of parents say their children chat with other known and unknown gamers through live streaming while playing social games. But 64% of parents consider online gaming and networking as the same risks to post something on social media.

There is no doubt that there are some risks of social gaming that parents should consider before allowing their children to play these games.

• Online safety is a major concerning issue. While gamers are playing games on social media they may chat with unknown people. Most multiplayer games allow joining anyone of this platform, which is very risky. So, there is a high chance that children may be bullied.

• Not all games on social platforms are safe for children as some of them point to adult content that could be harmful to them.

• It’s also important to consider what the children learn from these games. Each parents needs to decide what they will allow their child to be exposed to, such as violence or games with criminal activity.

• Whenever computers connect online there are cyber security risks, including identity theft due to gaining access of to personal information as players interact with each other.

Tips to Prevent the Risks of Social Networking for Gamers

There are almost 2.8 billion gamers globally, and the majority of them were children and teenagers. The number is increasing. With the rise of gamers on social platform, the rate of cybercrimes is also increasing alarmingly.

As a parent, you can do the following things to make social networking in gaming quite safer for the children.

1. Know About the Game

Before allowing any game you should read its reviews, safety features, age limit, and other things about the game. Try to understand the games that children have access to. Learn about the features and how they work, and familiarize yourself with the platform’s safety and privacy settings.

2. Educate Children

It’s important to educate your children about the basics of internet safety and risks. This includes:

• Educate children not to share personal information on social media gaming networks. Tell them not to share sensitive information such as your full name, address, phone number, financial information, etc.

• Teach your children not to connect or have conversations with unknown people. Social media gaming networks are a breeding ground for online predators. Be aware of whom they’re talking to.

• Tell them to report to the platform’s moderators of the social media gaming network if any suspicious or harmful things come up. They have the tools to take action that can help protect your kids.

• Teach your children to avoid spam messages or links from unknown sources, as they could be phishing scams. Clicking on these links could be harmful to them.

3. Privacy Settings

Most social media gaming networks have privacy settings from where you can do some controls. This includes;

• Control who can see your children’s profiles, what information is visible, and who can chat with them. These settings will protect the information.

• Some social platforms allow you blocking of inappropriate or adult content. If there aren’t such features, keep your children away from these platforms.

• You can also set time limits so kids can’t get engrossed in the virtual world.

Activating privacy settings does not fully remove cybersecurity risks of others on the server accessing to a players personal information.  Further security measures can be taken and even speed up game play by reducing your ping with a VPN.

4. Parental Control

Most reliable social gaming platforms have parental control features. Use these controls to limit your child’s exposure to inappropriate content or interactions with strangers. Moreover, you can take quick action if any bad things happen to go. Look for parental controls within the gaming console your child may be using, or the online account from which they are accessing the gaming network.

5. Use Anti-Malware Software

You can install good anti-malware software on the device your child is using to access the gaming platform. PC’s and Android tablets are the most at risk. You can also use a VPN for online games to add a layer of encryption. This will help protect your kids from malware and other cyber threats.

Internet Safety and Monitoring Friendships

Social networking for gamers provides hours of engaging fun for people to connect and play with others one-on-one or within a team.  Kids and teens will delete friendships overtime and you may even find that they spend time online with their friends watching movies or simply chatting while they play games with others.  This is important to be aware of so that you can be involved with your child’s online activities through regular conversations with them.

It’s also vital that parents are within ear shot of their child’s online gaming activities. You may require that your child keeps their bedroom door always open while they are connected to the internet. This way you can hear conversations taking place online on a regular basis.  You will hear what your child is saying to their online gaming friends during game play and otherwise.

Any online activity poses potential risks of cyberbullying, identity theft, and your kids encountering unscrupulous people with ulterior motives.  Setting up building parental controls on gaming consoles and social media networks for gamers is the first step that parents need to take. Additional parental controls that monitor and filter all online activity is an add-on resource that will do the best job at keeping kids from harmful internet activity.

Nothing can prepare you to hear that your child has been cyberbullying others. You were probably having a typical day until you got the call. The school or a student’s parent wants to talk to you about what your kid posted online. Your heart sinks — you may even go into some denial. Now you must decide how to proceed.

How do you even begin to address this issue with your child? Most parents are more prepared to help their kids as victims of bullying, not the other way around. Yet, your child needs your love and support just as much on this side of things. Use these tips to help you work through the emotions and repercussions of your child’s choices.

1. Keep Your Emotions in Check

Dealing with your kid participating in cyberbullying will likely bring up some strong feelings. You may experience denial, anger and disappointment, just to name a few. If you were bullied as a child, that might complicate the situation. However, it’s essential to control your emotions — you won’t be able to get to the bottom of things and help your kid if your temper rises.

2. Have a Heart to Heart

As soon as you can calm yourself down, have a chat with your child. Depending on the situation and how the cyberbullying came to light, this conversation may not be a one-on-one. You may need to have the first conversation with a guidance counselor or principal at your kid’s school.

No matter who the talk involves, you must make it clear you’re all prepared to work together to help correct the behavior. You want what’s best for everyone involved and to find out the reason behind the choice to cyberbully.

Watch your language and avoid calling them a bully. Very likely, they’re a good kid who made some bad choices. Discovering their motivation will help you come up with an action plan. However, ensure your child knows having a reason doesn’t make cyberbullying a good choice — there are always other alternatives.

3. Work With a Team

Whether your child’s school discovered the cyberbullying activity or you did, it’s a good idea to get them involved and on the alert. Having more people on your kid’s team can only help them.

If your child’s motives were school-based — like desiring popularity, peer pressure or retaliation from being bullied — the administration might have ideas for consequences or support on campus. They may be able to withdraw privileges or schedule time for your kid to talk regularly with the school psychologist or guidance counselor.

In addition, it may help to have your child see a therapist to talk about their decision to cyberbully and how to address the motive and change the behavior.

4. Restrict Internet and Device Use

At the minimum, you’ll want to restrict their internet use. Removing these privileges for younger kids is easier since they don’t typically need the internet for their homework. They’re also home more often, so you can observe their behavior more easily.

Teens are much more complex since they often need devices and internet access to keep up with schoolwork. In these instances, you’ll have to monitor their time or install software to scan for cyberbullying behavior and flag you if it picks up anything.

You can also contact your cell phone provider to limit their phone capabilities temporarily. Your carrier can turn off texting and data to make cyberbullying activity much more difficult.

5. Find Appropriate Consequences

In addition, you may want to add in other consequences to support the underlying motive behind their cyberbullying behaviors. For example, if your child joined in cyberbullying to fit in with a particular group, you should remove them from that influence as much as possible. You could take them out of a club or ground them so they can only leave home for school.

Finding new ways to occupy your kid’s attention helps create worthwhile substitutes for the bad choices they were making. Help them find a new hobby or pick up an old one. Look for something they’re passionate about and encourage them to spend more time on it. You can also set aside more family time to improve those bonds — order a pizza and get the whole family together on the living room floor to play board games.

6. Encourage Your Child to Make Amends

Just like when your child was small and pushed someone on the playground, they need to make it right. You should find a way they can make amends to the person or people they hurt with their cyberbullying behavior.

First, they should immediately delete any hurtful public or private posts or comments. Afterward, they should offer some form of apology to the person they hurt. If that person isn’t ready to face their bully, you should have your child write a note. Read it before delivery to ensure its appropriateness.

Cyberbullying Has Lasting Consequences

As uncomfortable as it is to deal with your kid participating in cyberbullying, you must address it now before the problem worsens. Kids who continue to bully throughout childhood tend towards similar behavior as adults. Protect your child’s future by helping them change their behavior in the present.

Author bio:
Cora Gold is the Editor-in-Chief of women’s lifestyle magazine, Revivalist. She strives to live a happy and healthy life with her family by her side.

Follow Cora on Facebook and LinkedIn.

For homeschooling parents, the notion of being both your child’s caretaker and educator can be daunting at times, no matter how rewarding it is.   That stress becomes even greater when you’re in the middle of a divorce.   Divorce impacts everyone, and will affect your child in some ways, too.

However, you can’t let the stress and possible contention of your divorce cause a change or sudden “stop” in your homeschool curriculum.

By coming up with a plan to prioritize your child and their education over the stress of your divorce, you can stay positive, and end up actually looking forward to the experience as a distraction.

Let’s look at some tips you can use to effectively homeschool and co-parent while going through a divorce, so no matter what happens between you and your former spouse, your child’s education won’t suffer.

Staying Present With Your Little One

It can be a struggle to stay in the present moment when you’re going through a divorce. It’s one of the most stressful experiences an individual can go through.

However, it’s important not to let it distract you from your child’s education. If you find your mind wandering when you’re supposed to be teaching, consider trying different techniques to improve your emotional intelligence and process bigger emotions.

You can actually use these techniques with your child, as well. Don’t forget, no matter their age or how they seem to be acting about the divorce, that they’re experiencing a major change, too. Helping to boost their emotional intelligence is a life skill they can carry with them and utilize well into adulthood. Some of the best ways to stay in the present moment and improve your emotional intelligence include:

• Journaling
• Meditation
• Mindfulness
• Mind mapping

You’ve probably at least heard of most of those techniques, but not everyone is familiar with mind mapping. It’s the process of creating a free-flowing diagram of thoughts that branch out from a central concept. It’s a great way to organize your thoughts and keep them from feeling so overwhelming.

Parenting and Educating

One of the greatest challenges you’ll have to deal with during your divorce is getting used to the changes it will cause. Unfortunately, your child will be dealing with those changes, too, especially if you’ve established a custodial/visitation arrangement with your former spouse.

Because your child already is getting used to certain changes, it’s important that you and your spouse are on the same page when it comes to their education. That includes things like:

• Keeping a daily routine (for school and play)
• Adopting similar teaching styles
• Covering the same curriculum and moving forward

It’s also important to make sure you’re actively communicating with your ex. While that’s not always easy, finding ways to effectively communicate without letting past hurts get in the way is essential for your child’s well-being and educational growth.

Mom’s that have devoted themselves to homemaking and fulltime childcare may also find themselves with the need or desire for higher education.  Don’t forget to work these goals into your co-parenting plans.

Keep the lines of communication as open as possible, and find what works for you. If you’re not comfortable with meeting face-to-face, consider texting, calling, or even using specific apps that are designed for co-parents, like OurFamilyWizard. Apps like these not only allow you to directly communicate with your ex, but they can help you keep track of schedules, making life just a little bit easier for your whole family.

Family Law Support

Throughout the process of dealing with the day-to-day turmoil that comes with any divorce, parents are often in need of support and guidance to navigate the complex landscape of family law. A family law attorney can provide relevant advice to ensure the best interests of the children are foremost, while working towards a fair outcome for coparents.

In addition to ensuring your child’s homeschooling schedule is uninterrupted, parents can be guided through the process to reduce stress for the entire family. From negotiating child custody arrangements to visitation schedules to child support, these professionals advocate to bring amicable resolutions with as little conflict as possible.

Valuable support resources may also be referred, such as therapists, counselors, and care groups to assist parents and children in coping with the emotional impact of the transition. This can empower parents to meet challenges with greater confidence and resilience so that their children may continue to thrive as students learning at home.

Giving Your Child What They Need

The best thing you can do for your homeschooled child as you go through a divorce is to give them exactly what they need to succeed. A large part of that includes maintaining a normal routine and keeping things as consistent as possible. However, because they’re dealing with so many changes, it might also include giving them a designated office space in your home for them to do their schoolwork.

Giving them a special space may not only help them stay productive and focus on their work, but it will provide an area where they can think and process their emotions.

This is especially important for teenagers who are trying to get through the more difficult years of school and prepare for college. Having a space of their own to get used to the changes and stay focused on their work can be extremely beneficial. It will also help them learn how to manage their stress and remain productive.

That doesn’t mean, however, that you should leave your child or teen on their own to figure things out. Now is the time to make sure they have what they need emotionally, as well as physically.

Even if it seems like your child is handling the divorce well, make sure you’re communicating with them regularly about their feelings. Take time out of the school day to talk about their emotions and how they’re feeling. Not only is it a positive way to show your love, but it’s teaching them a lesson that isn’t found in a book – emotional regulation and processing. That’s essential for them as they prepare for adulthood.

Going through a divorce is hard on the whole family, but it doesn’t have to disrupt your child’s homeschool routine. Keep these tips in mind to work with your ex, co-parent effectively, and ensure your child’s well-being and education are your top priorities.

About the Author
Katie Brenneman is a passionate writer specializing in education, mental health, family lifestyle and online safety. When she isn’t writing, you can find her with her nose buried in a book or hiking with her dog, Charlie. You can follow her on Twitter.