Keeping The Web Child-Friendly

Has your child ever taken your phone, browsed the internet and went onto sites they weren’t supposed to? It happens – children are unpredictable. But to make their online environment safer, there are several apps you can download which make it easier to monitor and restrict what your child watches. And this is only one of several ways you can danger-proof the internet. The Weekender shares more.

Say No To Mature Content

YouTube is one of the most popular video-sharing platforms in the world. It contains all sorts of content from raunchy music videos to inappropriate movies, and it’s easy for your child to find them. It just takes a couple of clicks; it’s as simple as that. Although YouTube came up with YouTube Kids, which curates content specifically for children, it’s unfortunately not available in Namibia. However, there are plenty of alternatives such as Kids Videos, an app on the Google Play Store, which selects all the best children’s shows like ‘Sesame Street’. From Christmas content to cartoons of all kinds, your children will be entertained with age-appropriate content.

Smart Devices Can Be Dangerous

In this era, more children are getting smart phones at a younger age, despite outcries in several countries that demand phones should only be given to children when they are 13 or 14, or older. If your children simply must have a phone, opt for one without access to the internet, or consider a tablet with child-friendly apps installed. At some point, you’ll have to talk to your children about healthy digital habits and social media. Avoid downloading apps for them such as Twitter and Instagram until they are older, because social media is a space where cyberbullying is common. Also, you don’t want strange adults talking to your children, so it’s vital to take the necessary precautions!

Parental Control is Your Friend

Television is much like the internet. Your child can browse through so many channels and find unsuitable content right in the comfort of your home. This is why parental control is important. Do you have a DStv Explora device? The process is easy: Click the DStv button on your remote, select settings and select ‘parental control’ and check out ‘PG settings’. Block shows and channels, and set a password to unlock it. It may be irritating as a parent to always have to put in a pin, but it’s worth it in the long run. Set passwords on your phone and computer as possible as well to manage their usage.

Does your child like Facebook? Play around with the controls and privacy settings so that you can choose who they befriend, rather than them accepting friend requests from random people.

Beware When Posting Your Children

You never know who’s watching on the internet. If you’re going to post your child on social media, try not to overdo it. Don’t give people clues about where you live or where your children go to school through posts and photos, or your child may just become a target of people with ill intentions. Prevent putting the full name of your child and where exactly they were born as well – identity theft is real. Turn off your location when posting your child in real time as well, no one needs to know where they are all the time.

The internet can be a wonderful and strange place, and with the necessary precautions, your child will be just fine.

– @MickeyNekomba on social media

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