With the COVID-19 pandemic, much of the school’s curriculum has been migrated to online learning from home. With the threats out there in the World Wide Web, how can concerned parents better safeguard their children from online predators? Here are some tips.
My kids have never used the computer and the Internet so much before the pandemic set in at the beginning of the year.
It started with a bang when school was closed to students during the nationwide lockdown, and students had to do ALL their lessons online, using online video conferencing tools such as Zoom and Google Meet.
Parents had to scramble to help their children be ready for #HomeBasedLearning – the new buzzword for families with school-going kids.
From buying laptops, to setting them up, to teaching the kids how to use the video conferencing software.
There was hardly any time and energy left to figure out how to secure the laptop and online learning sessions from Internet predators.
So parents – below are some areas to watch out for when preparing your child for #HomeBasedLearning.
- Dubious websites and content
- Dubious “Friends” in chat rooms and social media
- Cyberbullying
- Scams
Dubious websites and content
The World Wide Web is full of interesting stuff, much of it inappropriate for children e.g. pornography, racism, hate and violence.
So keep a close eye on what your kids are surfing – check their search/browser histories and designate an open location in the home for the kids to use the computer, so that everybody can help keep an eye out.