Cybersecurity for Kids: A Guide for Parents

parents and children at computer
Today, teaching your children about online safety is as essential as teaching them to cross the street safely. This guide is designed to help you introduce key cybersecurity concepts to your children; to help them understand the importance of protecting themselves and the family’s personal data.

Start with Basic Internet Safety

It’s important to have an open dialogue with your children about their online habits. Kids need to know that not everything (or everyone) on the internet can be trusted.

  • Teach kids to protect personal information: Make sure your child understands that information like their full name, home address, phone number, and school name should never be shared with strangers online. Explain that hackers can use this information to steal identities or gain access to family accounts.
  • Explain the importance of privacy settings: Help your kids set privacy settings on social media apps, games, and other platforms to control who can see their information and prevent strangers from contacting them or accessing their posts.
  • Use strong passwords: Teach your kids to create long, unique passwords for their accounts and use a password manager for younger children to generate and store strong passwords. Be sure to tell them to never share passwords with friends.

Warn Them About Online Strangers

The internet can be a dangerous place for children if they aren’t aware of who they’re interacting with.

  • Stranger danger online: Just as you wouldn’t let your child talk to strangers in person, they shouldn’t communicate with unknown people online. Emphasize that someone who claims to be their age might actually be an adult with bad intentions.
  • Cyberbullying awareness: Explain that bullying online is just as hurtful as in-person bullying and should not be tolerated. Encourage them to come to you if they feel uncomfortable or threatened by anyone online.

Set Ground Rules for Internet Use

To protect your child’s online experience, establish clear rules about what they can do on the internet.

  • Time limits: Set boundaries on how long your kids can be online each day, saving time for other activities such as playing outside, reading, or spending time with family.
  • Approved apps and websites: Make a list of sites and apps they can use and explain why certain websites or apps are off-limits.
  • Screen time in shared spaces: Have your child use devices in a shared area of the home, where you can easily monitor their activity without intruding on their privacy.

Teach Them About Phishing and Scams

Cybercriminals often target kids with fake games, contests, or offers that appear too good to be true.

  • Spotting phishing attempts: Tell your children that if they receive messages or emails from unknown people asking for personal information, they should immediately inform you.
  • Be cautious of free offers: Explain that not all free offers or downloads are safe. Some might come with malware or viruses that could steal personal information from the entire family.

Use Parental Controls and Monitoring

Many devices and apps offer parental controls that allow you to monitor your child’s activity and limit the content they can access.

  • Set parental controls: You can limit the types of websites your children can visit and control the hours they can access the internet to help prevent them from stumbling upon inappropriate content.
  • Monitor downloads and apps: Teach them to always ask permission before downloading new apps or making in-game purchases

Explain the Importance of Updates

Kids might be tempted to ignore update prompts (like many adults are), but this is a crucial part of cybersecurity.

  • Install updates regularly: Teach your kids that updating apps, games, and devices helps keep their information safe from hackers who try to exploit old security flaws.
  • Automatic updates: Where possible, enable automatic updates on their devices to ensure everything is secure.

Model Good Behavior

Children often mimic their parents’ behavior, so practicing good cybersecurity yourself will help reinforce the importance of staying safe online.

  • Be a role model: Make sure to follow the same rules you set for your children. Avoid oversharing personal information online and use strong passwords for your accounts.
  • Share your experiences: If you’ve encountered online scams or phishing emails, talk to your kids about it and explain how you avoided falling victim to the scam.

Teach Cybersecurity in a Kid-Friendly Way

Communicating complex concepts like cybersecurity with younger children can be challenging, but it is also critical.

  • Use analogies:Compare passwords to keys that unlock a door or explain personal information like a treasure that needs to be protected.
  • Interactive learning:Use games or interactive tools to make learning about cybersecurity fun. Many educational websites, including Keeping Children Safe Online and Common Sense Media, offer online safety quizzes and activities designed for children.
  • Break it down into bite-sized lessons:Don’t try to teach your kids everything at once, and instead focus on one concept at a time, such as passwords today and online stranger danger tomorrow.

Observe How and What Content Your Children Are Consuming

It’s not only about what your children are viewing online; the way they interact with content can also pose risks. Popular platforms like Roblox and Minecraft often allow user-generated content, which may include material that is inappropriate for young audiences. While you don’t need to be looking over their shoulder at all times, it is a good idea to observe your child’s online activities from time to time to ensure the content is appropriate for their age and maturity level.

  • Look for Signs of Inappropriate Content: Watch for unexpected themes, language, or behavior that doesn’t align with age-appropriate content.
  • Monitor In-Game Interactions: Pay attention to chat features or other ways your child might be communicating with others in games.
  • Check the Source of Videos: Even if the title appears child-friendly, verify that the content creator or platform is reputable and trustworthy.

Implementing These Recommendations with Technical Controls

While these recommendations offer a variety ways to keep your kids safe online, we also understand that not all parents will be sure how to implement them effectively. Setting up parental controls, monitoring devices, and enforcing screen time limits can feel overwhelming without the right tools.

There are reputable products designed specifically for consumers to make this process easier. One such tool, Bark, is simple to configure and allows you set up all of the necessary restrictions in one place, including the ability to:

  • Monitor Devices: Bark tracks your child’s activity on a variety of platforms, including text messages, emails, and over 30 social media apps for any red flags, like inappropriate content or potential online threats.
  • Set Time Limits: You can enforce screen time limits on your child’s devices, ensuring they’re not spending too much time online.
  • Filter Content: Use Bark to block access to certain websites, apps, and inappropriate content, allowing you to tailor internet access to what’s safe for your child.
  • Receive Alerts: The app sends notifications if it detects anything concerning, so you can step in when needed without having to monitor constantly.

Cybersecurity is an essential skill that should be taught from an early age. Guide your children through safe internet practices and regularly discuss online safety to help them build healthy, secure habits that will last a lifetime.

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Sources:

Richard Stokes: As the Director of Sales for Network 1, Richard identifies “future” clients that can benefit from the support of an experienced, outsourced IT team. He helps clients and prospects find technology solutions they need to achieve better productivity and efficiency so they can focus on making money and growing their businesses.

Network 1 designs, builds and supports the IT you need to run your business more securely, productively and successfully. Whether you want to outsource all of your IT needs to a reliable, responsive, service-oriented company, or need to supplement the work of your internal IT staff, we will carefully evaluate where you are now, discuss where you want to go and implement and support a plan to get you there with as little interruption as possible.

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