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| Photo by Katerina Holmes from Pexels |
If you have children, then you probably want to do everything possible to keep them safe. This includes while they are online. There are a few ways that you can monitor the websites that they visit, who they talk to, and some of the things that they see while they are online so that they are safe. One of the first steps is to learn about the laws in your state that pertain to the internet and some of the filtering settings that you can install on the devices in your home.
From Your Provider
You can contact your provider to learn about some of the controls that are offered that you might not know about when you have your internet service connected in your home. You can also talk to your children about the websites that they are allowed to visit and those that they should avoid. The Children's Internet Protection Act is in place in each state and keeps children protected on the internet while they are in school and in libraries thanks to the cooperation of various internet providers.
Filtering
There are ways that you can program your router to filter the internet content in your home. This means that children might need a password in order to get online or to access certain websites. It could also mean that they might not be allowed to go on certain websites at all even while they are online. Providers that have guides online about filtering include Verizon,
Dish Network, and Xfinity.
Blocking
If there are websites that you don't want your children to know about, you can block them or block the passwords that are used to access the internet. You would then be in control of entering the password when your children want to go online, which means that you have more ways to keep your children as safe as possible. You could also approve the websites that they ask you about so that you know what they want to view, which can give them a feeling of being in control of the websites that they go to as well.
Make a Schedule
Try to set a schedule for when your children are allowed to be online. It should be a time when you can monitor the websites they visit instead of being online at night when you don't know what they are doing or who they are talking to online. You should also try to set up an area in your home where your children can access the internet so that you can better monitor them instead of letting them use a computer or device in their room. Some providers can assist with turning off online access after a certain time during the day.
Devices
When you go to a website, you'll usually have the option of adding a device that's trusted. If you're using a home computer or one of your child's devices, you can add this device so that you have more control over it instead of your child trying to add one that you don't know about.
Laws
State laws help to protect children when they aren't home and using the internet. Most schools and public libraries limit the access that children have if they are under a certain age so that they are only allowed to go on certain websites.
