Online Safety Tips

I am pleased to bring you my take on how to monitor your kid’s internet usage. This is post is brought to you by Cox Communications because they value their customers and seek to communicate online safety tips.

I have three kids and their favorite activity is to get online. They are all under 10. The reason is simple I am always online for work so that is what they want to do as well. I can’t believe the alarming rate that the internet has grown. I mean my 8 year-old has his own tablet. Today, Internet use is doubling every two years, representing a dramatic increase in online activity. While parents are gaining ground monitoring their children’s online behavior, kids now have access to the Internet through mobile devices, such as smartphones, game consoles and tablets, posing new challenges in Internet safety. The average family has five Internet-enabled devices at home. The sad part is my house is above average. I have 5 devices myself. The other night my husband and I had a conversation about this very topic. How are we going to put the devices on “lock down” so that the children couldn’t go where we didn’t want them to go.

Online Safety Tips

These are some of the things that we did. We downloaded apps on their devices then we changed the settings to turn off the wifi. We password protected the wifi that we loaded on their device. We placed passwords on all of our devices. On the computer I created a setting that was for the children with their own password. The computer has all the pop ups turned off. We book marked 25 sites that they are allowed to go on. We monitor their browsing history. We had a couple of misclicks but they told us what happened immediately. We limit the amount of time they are on their devices. We make sure the computers are in rooms that we are in so we can see what they are doing. They are not allowed to have email, facebook, twitter, etc. They are allowed to listen to music that we have downloaded on their devices. I know it seems like a lot of work but it is worth it. It is also very easy to set up your Cox Cable to make sure that you know what your children are watching. The Cox takes charge  website offers easy to follow tips on not only setting up security through your cable but on your iPhone, Andriod, internet, wii and Dsi. This is an awesome resource since I had no idea how to protect my child on these devices.

The question is how are you keeping your family and kids safe online? Cox Communications has come together to give families the tools they need to stay secure. The online resource, Cox Take Charge provides parents with the statistics, education and tools they need to build a culture of digital safety in their homes. Cox Communications has also partnered with Common Sense Media and the NCTA to amplify the message of safety and provide parents with the best resources available. I am grateful for the wonderful tips that were provided for free on their website. I know that I can’t protect my children from everything but I can control what happens on their devices under my roof.

Topic: Online Safety Tips