Internet Safety Tips for Elementary Students

The internet is a useful tool for children. It can be used for education, communication, and entertainment. Recently, children are spending a lot more time on the internet due to the lockdowns imposed in various countries. Various activities like classes, homework, and mingling with people are facilitated through the web.

Nonetheless, with all these benefits, it also contains some dangers. From social media to online gaming chat platforms, your kid might encounter unsavory characters online. There’s also the issue of sharing personally identifiable information online.

Honestly, trying to keep your child from using the internet almost always fails. A lot of processes in the world today use the internet as a medium. Sooner or later, an internet device will find its way to your child’s hands. Attempting to understand the dangers on the internet and beating them is a better approach.

Internet Safety Tips for Elementary Students

Dangers that Children face on the Web:

• Internet Bullies

Bullying is a major problem for kids in real life. However, cyberbullying can also take place on the internet and hurt a child emotionally. Internet bullies try to harass youngsters online through repetitive messaging, spreading hurtful rumors, or threats to the victim.

Sometimes, it can get extreme and reach a level where the bullied child gets followed and taunted in real life. This kind of internet danger can damage a child emotionally because cyberbullies are hard to stop.

• Predators on the Web

Predators track children all over the internet, attempting to gain their trust. These malicious characters hover around social media and online gaming platforms to establish communications with children. By manipulating the child into believing they’re also kids, they can hook the children in.

Young ones that lack strict parental supervision make better targets. The child can also get deceived into meeting with the predator physically. 

• Divulging Personal Information

In their innocence, children assume every person is as good as they are. So, they might find nothing wrong in sharing personal information like their real-time location or home address on social media.

The problem is, any character can view that information online. If it lands in the hands of a criminal, it could pose serious problems for a family. Enough information gotten about a person can be used to monitor routines and make malicious plans.

Top Web Safety Guidelines you can Utilize:

• Teach Kids to Handle Cyberbullying

Teach your kid to avoid reacting to the bully. Internet bullies take interest in individuals who respond to them and get bored easily if their potential victims ignore them.

Teach your child how to use the block button too. Most social media platforms allow users to block anyone they find uncomfortable. Ask your kid to maintain a record of the messages and report to you either a teacher if the bully perseveres.

• Lay Down Internet Rules

Before your child gets introduced to the internet, you need to establish some rules. First, ask your kid to never share personal information online. Photos showing rooms in the house or depicting your location should be avoided. 

Strangers should also be kept clear of. Personal topics are not to be discussed online, even with friends. Topics on chat platforms should center on activities on the platform.

• Get a VPN

A Virtual Private Network will encrypt the flow of internet traffic to a device your child uses. They’re particularly beneficial for the youngster in two major ways.

First, VPN servers change users' location information on the internet. Cyber predators that stalk kids may try to get your child’s device’s IP address. IP addresses show personal information such as location. Downloading a VPN and connecting to a server will ensure your child never gets tracked.

VPNs also protect children on public Wi-Fi networks. Kids love free Wi-Fi and can get their information spied on if they connect to hacked public Wi-Fi. With a VPN, all their online traffic is encrypted. This secures their information and devices from various attacks. 

• Keep a Close Eye on your Child’s Internet Activity 

If you don’t want to restrict your child from using social media and chat platforms, make sure you supervise them occasionally. Sit your kid down and explain the reason for the monitoring. 

Request them to share passwords with you. Then inform them everything you do is for their safety. Keeping tabs on their internet visits and downloads can help you tackle problems before they begin.

Also, encourage your child to bring the internet device to a communal place in the home.  This area in the home has to be a place with high traffic. Children are less likely to visit inappropriate websites if everyone can catch a glimpse of their activities. You can also use special apps to monitor your child’s internet activity. 

• Block Access to Inappropriate Websites

If you’re a frequent internet user, you should know you can land on inappropriate pages you didn’t search for. If it happens to you, your child will surely experience it. Learning to block access to inappropriate websites and using parental controls is a needed skill.

When you set up parental controls, these pages will not get loaded on your child’s device. You can establish these controls on browsers and specific websites. There are internet service providers (ISPs) that provide controls for home routers. Operating systems like Mac and Windows also come with parental controls.

Closing Thoughts

Most children need the internet to perform various activities ranging from education to entertainment. However, it’d be best if their experiences on the internet are purely positive. This translates to keeping them off the dangers on the internet like bullying, cyber predators, and the likes.

You can protect your child by getting VPN software for devices, using parental controls, and giving education on handling cyberbullying.