Keep Your Kids Safe Online: All You Need to Know about Internet Safety at School and Home

Social networking is a great way to keep in touch with friends and family worldwide. However, it can also be dangerous if you are not careful.

Keeping your child safe online is a challenge that all of us face, and while they are at school and home, how you deal with this can be very different. At school, you must be aware of the various ways in which information can be accessed and make good decisions as to how and when your children use the devices they have at school.

Preventing your children from viewing harmful material online is essential for being a responsible parent. While most internet service providers offer parental controls that can filter out sites with inappropriate content, it’s still necessary to have a conversation about internet safety with your kids.

As a parent, you need to know what online content might be harmful to children and guideways to stay safe online.

How Can You Find Out What Your Child Is Doing Online?

A few different options can help you keep track of your child’s online activity. One option is to set up parental controls on their phone or computer. Many ISPs have these built-in, or you can purchase programs that can do it for you. Spectrum packages are highly reliable for this matter, thanks to the security suite that they come with. 

You can also talk to your kids about internet safety and learn what they’re doing online. It may seem awkward, but it’s better to get the information from your kids than to be surprised by what they’re viewing. Again, ensure the conversation is age-appropriate, but encourage your kids to tell you if they encounter anything questionable. 

Find out what terms they use to search for things online, and ask them to teach you how to do it on your own so you can see it for yourself.

You might even want to create a password-protected account where they can email you photos of themselves with captions explaining where and why they took the photos. That way, if something is going on that shouldn’t be, you’ll know about it right away.

The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) requires public libraries and schools across the country to install filtering software on all of their computers to prevent children from accessing explicit content.

Tightening the Grip on Your Child’s Safety

There are many ways to shield your child from harmful content on the internet. Knowing your options before choosing a plan that best suits your family’s needs is essential. Spectrum cable service offers the best internet speed and 24/7 tech support. 

Here are some easy steps for keeping kids safe online:

• Set Rules for Internet Access

Just like you do for TV and video game time, set rules for when your child can have access to the internet (and when they can’t). It can help them get used to having only “a certain amount” of time online every day, which can limit distractions while they’re at school or doing homework. It also minimizes exposure to inappropriate content that might end up on their phones or computers if they have unrestricted access at home.

Set up parental controls on your home computer. Most computers have parental control settings that you can use to prevent your child from visiting certain websites or accessing specific programs, such as chat rooms or gaming sites. You can also monitor how much time they spend online and set a password to block them from viewing adult content.

Set up user names and passwords for all of your family’s devices. Ensure that you know the passwords yourself if you have to reset them or take away access entirely if necessary.

• Content Filtering

This method allows parents to block specific sites and content, such as pornography or violent images. A majority of ISPs offer the option to stop these sites for an added fee.

School-level content filtering: Under CIPA, all public schools and libraries must have at least one internet-accessible computer with web-filtering software installed to filter content deemed obscene or pornographic by the school or library.

Time limits: Some parental controls allow you to set time limits for their children’s computer use. In contrast, others allow parents to stop their children from visiting certain websites altogether. This type of parental control often comes with a pre-set list of blocked sites that parents can choose. You can also schedule when your child has internet access with Net Nanny or K9 Web Protection, accessible through most internet service providers (ISPs). We recommend Spectrum Packages. It can give you a chance to learn more about your child’s internet habits and what sites they often visit.

• Protecting Yourself Online

Ensure you protect your computer with a good antivirus program and that you change your passwords regularly so no one else can get into your account. For example, a hacker may try to break into your email to read messages containing personal information about you, like bank account numbers or credit card information. It’s also a good idea to sign up for the two-step verification process when it’s offered by websites like banks or social media platforms like Google and Facebook.

Monitoring Child’s Safety Laws

Monitoring your child’s internet use is an essential part of keeping them safe online, but you may want to know what your school or library is doing to protect them. If you’re a parent, it’s also important to know what laws your state has in place that are designed to protect children from the dangers of accessing explicit content and harmful material online.

Many states have their internet safety laws, some of which are more stringent than CIPA. To learn about individual state laws and see a chart comparing each one, visit the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The FCC also provides an annual report on school and library computer use, including the number of public and private schools receiving discounted internet access through E-Rate and other programs. The report also provides information on how many schools have installed technology protection measures such as filtering software or content recognition programs. You can find current accounts on the FCC website.

Important things to consider when researching your state’s child internet safety laws:

1. Find out if your school or library is conforming to CIPA or other state laws that require internet safety measures, like filtering software and protection against cyberbullying. For example, if your school receives federal funding for internet access through E-Rate, it is subject to CIPA regulations.
2. Has your school made any policy changes? Is there a new technology in use, such as tablets or laptops? Are the filters on the computer blocking sites you think are appropriate for your child? It’s essential to be aware of these changes and keep tabs on how they affect you and your family.
3. Are you concerned about how secure the school’s Wi-Fi network is? Does it encrypt traffic data? These measures help protect against cyber threats.

Encourage Child Internet Safety at Home

Children are curious, young, and tech-savvy, so they inevitably find ways around any barriers you set up. Unfortunately, with so many new threats out there, it can be hard to know where to start when it comes to keeping your kids safe online. The best thing you can do is encourage internet safety at home and put your children in charge of their own online experience at school or the library.

Remember: Just because you don’t have control over what a child does in a public setting doesn’t mean you should give up on internet safety altogether. On the contrary, if your child begins using the internet unsupervised, make sure they understand why internet safety is essential. The more they know about the potential dangers on the web, the better equipped they’ll be to avoid them.

One of the critical aspects of teaching internet safety is ensuring that every family member knows how to stay safe online. It involves teaching them what they should avoid while on the web and what steps they can take to protect themselves from potential danger.

The National Children’s Advocacy Center has a few recommendations for keeping your children safe online:

The internet is a place to learn, explore and connect with friends. However, it can also be dangerous if you don’t take precautions. To help you and your children stay safe online, here are some tips from the National Children’s Advocacy Center:

1. Never give out your personal information or anyone else’s, such as your name, address, phone number, or email address. Also, never agree to meet in person with someone you first spoke to online.
2. If you are in a chat room or social media site and things become uncomfortable, leave the room. You can always go back later — never give out your personal information on these sites.
3. Only share passwords with people you trust, and never let someone else use your computer or log on as you.
4. Don’t respond to emails and texts that ask for personal information or money under any circumstance, even if it appears to be from a family member or friend.
5. If someone contacts you online who makes you feel uncomfortable, leave the chat room or stop using that website immediately and tell an adult what happened when you get home.
6. If anyone asks for money by saying they can hurt your family if you don’t send them cash or gift cards, tell an adult immediately
7. Protect your privacy. When using cell phones and computers, you may need to set up privacy controls yourself to stop people
8. Be careful what you say online. Words alone can be harmful, but so can pictures and videos posted online without your permission. Even if it’s just a silly picture taken at a party, someone could take it and use it in ways that hurt or embarrass you down the road.

Child Protection Laws 

Internet laws in many states are designed to protect children from accessing content they aren’t old enough to view. Unfortunately, the internet has made it easy for kids to access adult content, increasing crimes against children. Some laws prevent children from being exposed to adult images at school and home.

Here are the states with strict internet safety laws:

California

The first part of California’s Internet Safety Act took effect on January 1, 2015. Under this law, all devices sold in the state must have a free filtering program already installed. If you want to remove this filter or install another one, you must pay for it yourself. The second part of this law went into effect in January 2016. It requires schools to teach students about digital citizenship beginning in kindergarten and continuing through the 12th grade. They also must do more to protect students from cyber-threats while using school Wi-Fi networks or other technology provided by the school district.

Minnesota

Minnesota is one of the best states for online privacy and security because it has strict laws for child protection. The level of accountability is relatively high. 

Colorado

The legal system in Colorado provides a variety of protections for children, including those involved in the juvenile justice system. It can help ensure that children receive equal representation for their rights. In addition to the state laws, some local laws may be in place that provides additional protection for children. 

Keep in mind that with any legal situation, it is best to find a lawyer who is familiar with the local laws and has experience working with cases involving children.

Signing Off 

There are many ways to ensure your child’s online activity is well guarded. At the same time, they can explore the many possibilities that the internet offers if there is parental or adult supervision. We hope this article helped you identify some of them, and an essential factor in ensuring safety is choosing the right internet plan for your family. Spectrum cable service is an excellent choice if you’re looking for a reliable ISP near you. 

Happy parenting! 

 

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