In this 21st century, parents have a great challenge, educating beyond social networks and the internet. If the innocence of a child was vulnerable before, now it is more, if adolescence was a difficult stage, now it is impossible. Social networks and the internet are tools that facilitate communication, learning and commerce, but many people use them to commit crimes of all kinds and sexual entertainment.
It is not a novelty that technology has more and more scope. Those who are parents know that children know how to handle electronic devices better than they do. They can be seen gathered together telling anecdotes of how smart their children are and how much they know about handling cell phones, tablets, computers and game consoles. It is common for children after 2 to receive a tablet as a gift and play with their parents' cell phones. The serious question; How much security do children and adolescents have while they are browsing social networks and the internet?
It is our duty to protect and enforce Children's Rights, an international treaty established on November 20, 1959 by the UN. This declaration recognizes that every child is a human being capable of developing physically, mentally, morally and spiritually with freedom and dignity. But how can we protect them from social networks and the information found in it? What can I do if my child is connected almost all the time?
As an old saying goes "it is never too late if happiness is good". First, set usage limits. Each family has its peculiarities and rules, but there are basic limits that every family should have in relation to time on the internet. Second, find out about the different electronic devices your child uses, what social networks she uses frequently and what type of controls can be activated. Talk to your child about their decision, the reasons, and the steps to take.
The technology is so advanced that it is difficult to understand how the devices that have the ability to connect to the Internet work, so we must start from the easiest to the most complex. It is important to know that there are tools that facilitate its use and control. An example of this is smart phones, some brands have the ability within the same cell phone, with a different and unique password, to limit inappropriate content depending on age. This means that even if you access a Wi-Fi network, you will not be able to open inappropriate pages since the restriction is on the cell phone and does not cost anything. There are also applications that you can install and allow you to control the hours of use and you can see which pages, which social networks you frequent and set limits.
From 10 years of age teaching begins in some schools of programs such as Word, Power Point, Publisher, among others. For this reason, the use of computers is almost essential. But these also have controls. To activate them you must create an account as an administrator and create your child's as a regular user. From your administrator account you can set usage controls. If you do not know how to do it, you can request technical help from the manufacturer or you can search the internet for information regarding the procedure.
Recently computers are configured so that by entering the username and password of your email account you can enter. This is the safest way to configure them and I will explain the reasons. If you have an account in Hotmail, Outlook or any email service belonging to Microsoft, you can create a supervised user.To this supervised user, on the computer where you are an administrator, you create an account using this email. This way you can only enter the computer with your supervised user. You can receive reports of the pages that you tried to enter or entered, configure the account so that it asks you for permission to enter all the pages of the web, block pages or set limits and hours of use within the main Microsoft browsers that are Edge and Internet Explorer. The same happens if you want to restrict the use in the Chrome browser, this is done using an email account in Gmail which allows you to create these types of users and limit them. You can also create both accounts and allow searches in both browsers.
You cannot control what your children see or learn at school, in their daily life or with their friends, but what happens in your home and the correct use of the electronic devices that you provide them. Do not leave your child devoid of the necessary and important security for her emotional, mental and sexual development. If you do not control and limit the use of the internet it would be like giving them permission to go to Las Vegas. It sounds a little exaggerated but more and more children and adolescents who browse porn pages, are victims of sexual harassment or "bulling". Monitoring and communication play an essential role in these times.
If you have any questions regarding this article, leave your comment, I am here to help you.
