Keep Your Kids Safe When Using Their Smartphones

It’s a tough decision whether to let your kids have a smartphone for the first time. You have to weigh a huge number of factors from their development to their safety, but once the decision is made, it is even tougher. You want to give your kids some freedom, and you know them having a smartphone can help you keep track of them, but it could also potentially put them in harm’s way.

With that in mind, here are a few things you can do to keep your kids safe when using their smartphones:

Monitor Their Usage

If your child has a smartphone, its a good idea to monitor that phone to see what they are doing and who they are connecting with. There are a range of apps that can help you see exactly how they are spending their time online, including this one that lets you lookup the number of anyone who calls them. This will help you to ensure that your child is only connecting to appropriate people within their circle and that they aren’t spending hours upon hours playing smartphone games. How you enable restrictions will vary from device to device, so by looking up a guide you can make sure the right restrictions are turned on.

Talk To Your Kids About Online Safety

It can be a difficult conversation to have, for sure, but if you want to keep your kids safe when they’re using their smartphone (or online in general), then you need to discuss all of the bad things that can happen to them in an age-appropriate way. There are lots of books and resources that can help you with this, but the bottom line is, you need to make sure your kids know that people on apps are not always who they say they are and that some people have bad intentions, Then, make it very clear that they should only be interacting with people they actually know.

Impose Limits

Spending time on their smartphones won’t harm your kids - and if they’re playing educational games or socializing with friends it could actually be good for them. But as anything, too much can be a problem. Too much screen time can lead to phone addiction, dropping in grades, seeking out of information they should not be knowing, and a whole host of other problems. This is why it is a good idea to set a limit on how much time they can spend on their phone each day. Younger children should have very strict limits imposed on them, whereas teenagers can be allowed a bit more freedom, but no child should be allowed constant unfettered access to their phones in an ideal world.

All of these tips will help you to keep your kids safe when using their phones. And don't forget to keep yourself up-to-date on internet security, too... things are always changing!