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Online Safety Checklist for Kids: A Guide for Parents

June 5, 2024

Summer Teens

School’s out for summer and kids are spending more time online. Whether they’re gaming, streaming videos, or chatting with friends, ensuring their online safety is more crucial than ever. Equip your kids with the knowledge and tools they need to stay safe online with this safety checklist.

  1. Open Discussions: Talk about online safety and encourage your child to share their online experiences and concerns. Help children open up about their digital lives with these 4 simple tips.
  2. Manage Devices: Supervise device usage and set up parental controls to filter inappropriate content.
  3. Parental Controls: Use technology to monitor and control their internet use, including safe search engines and apps. Check out this step-by-step guide.
  4. Privacy Talks: Teach them the importance of keeping personal information private and setting strong privacy settings.
  5. Family Agreement: Create and enforce clear rules for online behavior and screen time. Use this family agreement template to set some digital rules about tech use in and out of the home.
  6. Early Social Media Talks: Explain social media’s benefits and risks before they start using it, and monitor their activity. Check out this guide to help your family navigate the risks and rewards of social media.
  7. Check Age Ratings: Ensure apps, games, and websites are age-appropriate by checking ratings and content descriptions. Use this guide to learn more about the common social networks your child might be on.
  8. Safe on the Move: Educate them on the risks of public Wi-Fi and the importance of secure browsing. Discover Friendly WiFi and how to ensure a safe online experience.
  9. Browse Together: Explore the internet with your child to understand their interests and guide them in safe online practices.

By following this checklist, you can help your pre-teen navigate the digital world safely and responsibly.

Explore more helpful tips at internetmatters.org.

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