You can’t keep your kids off the internet. After all, they’re living in the 21st century, and doing so will limit their academic career, hamper their future growth, and make them a social pariahs. What you can do, however, is restrict their time online (to a healthy level) and ensure that the content that they’re following is age-appropriate. With that in mind and without further ado, here are the top nine ways to make internet browsing safer for your kids. 

1.    Watch what they’re doing

No tool, device, or method is as effective as a watchful parent. Even completely restricting your kid’s access to the internet may result in them sneaking off or doing so while you’re not looking. Kids today are tech-savvier than expected, so you must be extra vigilant.

Pay attention to what they’re doing online. Don’t scold them when you notice them enjoying potentially problematic content. Pay closer attention and try to follow this rabbit hole. You might patch a minor issue by being too hasty while giving them a chance to conceal something far more sinister.

Nothing can beat an attentive parent. Sure, you’re probably struggling with the schedule as it is, but there’s nothing more important than your kid’s well-being. To ensure this, you must keep a watchful eye on online threats. 

2.    Use parental control apps

With the right app, you can restrict your kids access to potentially harmful content on YouTube and other platforms. The truth is that you can’t watch out for them all the time. What you can do is set the system up so that it helps protect your kids even when you’re not around. Naturally, this is not a replacement for a watchful parent. 

You can also use these tools for screen time management. If you explain how this works to them, you may even avoid accusations of unfairness. Just tell them that the app/device will automatically shut down after a certain amount of time, and they can either take it or leave it.

3.    Get content-filtering software

Online content ranges from very beneficial for your kids to very problematic. The simplest way to get around this is to find content-filtering software, install it, set up a user profile, and select filtering. Here, you can restrict things like:

• Adult content
• Gambling
• Violence

Not only that, but you can even choose what level of protection you will use in these scenarios. This level of customization is great since you can’t be there 24/7. This provides passive protection and creates a fail-proof system that will provide your kids with much more protection. 

While setting filters is relatively reliable, you can manually block and allow additional content. This gives you a chance to customize your kid’s browsing experience.

4.    Teach them online etiquette

One of the biggest problems with giving kids access to the internet too early is that they adopt very toxic online behavior that they carry over into real life. No, they can’t talk to their teachers like they talk to their friends while playing Roblox. 

Explain that being polite and empathetic has an intrinsic value. Tell them that their words, even to strangers, can both hurt and heal. 

5.    Warn them of the dangers of the internet

Kids are often unaware of how online problems can translate into the real world. This is where you should have “the talk” with them.

Start by explaining that people online are not always to be trusted. No, they cannot share their password with someone they’ve met online. Explain that people will sometimes try to provoke them to give them the password, but they must never, under any circumstances, do so.

Second, they should never share their physical address or personal info (the school they attend) online. This is a huge problem whose gravity kids just don’t understand.

Tell them that people online will try to scam them out of their (their parents) money. No, it’s not a good idea to get their parent’s credit card just because they need a few more daily actions in a browser-based game that they’re playing.

To avoid this, explain to them the basics of digital footprint. Tell them that everything they do online remains online forever. Even if they delete it, there’s a possibility that someone, somewhere out there, has a screenshot. An embarrassing statement in their childhood can carry over. 

Even if the other controls restrict most of this, it’s still a conversation that you’ll need to have sooner or later.

6.    Keep up with potentially dangerous trends

Online space is far from safe. Sometimes, your kids will be exposed to more harm than you expect. A while back, kids were exposed to the Tide Pod challenge, a completely idiotic idea where kids ingested laundry detergent pods for an online challenge.

The worst part is that this is just one of many examples. The fire challenge involved them setting themselves on fire, while the Blue Whale challenge was supposed to end in suicide.

As a parent, you must keep track of all these trends and act before it’s too late. Sure, it’s hard to know exactly what’s going on at any given moment, but sometimes, it’s your top priority and something you can’t ignore. 

7.    The news is just as dangerous

Remember that you’re not keeping your kids safe from malicious online parties. You’re probably trying to protect them from bad news, as well. Take, for instance, what happened in Hawaii a few days ago. 

It’s a tragedy, but it can become so much more for a child. Kids hearing of an earthquake interpret every vibration as a start. The world is horrifying, and even an adult may have difficulty keeping their hopes up.

Are earthquakes, fires, and terrorist attacks possible anywhere on the planet? Of course, they are. However, you can’t go on about your life expecting them. This is a concept that many adults can’t fathom, so how would you expect a child to come to terms with it?

8.    Restricting their time online

Have you ever heard of the term “terminally online?” This happens when someone spends so much time online that they completely lose touch with the real world. Their interactions, entertainment, and information come from the digital environment. Even today, this is not an accurate representation of the world, and you must be careful.

People often play on the nostalgia card. They claim that they’ve spent more time outdoors as kids, and while this is technically true, it’s not the whole truth. Namely, if you had a smartphone or video games, you would spend more time behind the screen, as well.

Kids cannot control themselves, so you should do it for them. The best way to do so is to restrict their time online. Some platforms have this feature by default.

9.    Find a kid-friendly browser

Some browsers are specifically designed for children. This means they’re highly advanced in content filtering, curated content, and parental control. They also provide a safe search feature, which means your kids won’t be able to access inappropriate content.

While kids are more tech-savvy than we are, they might benefit from a kid-friendlier interface. Even though this interface is different, it’s also intuitive and relies more on visuals. This means the skills they develop this way will still translate to a regular browser later.

Most importantly, there are no advertisements or tracking. This is especially important because some platforms are notorious for tracking kids and using malicious techniques for product placement. 

Some examples of kid-friendly browsers are:

• Zoodles
• Kiddle
• KidRex

Still, there are others out there for you to find. 

While parental control tools can help out, they can never replace an attentive parent

So, are these parental tools worth it? Absolutely. However, this doesn’t mean you can just install them and forget that your kid has internet access. When your child's future is at stake, you need to use all the tools available.