Technology has made considerable advancements in the 21st century.  Computing power has grown exponentially, fast internet is available just about anywhere and mobile devices allow you to stay connected 24x7, wherever you travel.  Most of these changes are for the better, but children face risks today that largely did not exist when their parents were young.  Some of these are:

·        Access to inappropriate content

·        Privacy Risks

·        Cyber Predator

·        Cyber Bullying

·        Malicious Links, Malware, Phishing Emails – they are indiscriminate

That’s a pretty scary list for parents.  You may be tempted to unplug entirely.  Unfortunately preventing your children from accessing the internet will only deny them the skills they will need in the future.  With a little education and some readily available tools, you can reduce some of these risks.  Let’s get started.

1. Education is step number one.  Be sure to discuss the ground rules with your children.  Make sure they know what they should and should not do online.

• Don’t chat with strangers.

• Do not share personal details like your address, school, age with anyone online without a parent’s permission.  This is the online equivalent of the “Stranger Danger” conversation.

• Anything you put on the internet is in the public domain forever.  This may not resonate with young children, but parents should be cognizant of this and limit social media accordingly.

• Manners are important.  Just because you have some anonymity on the internet, that doesn’t make it okay to be rude.  Treat people as you want to be treated.

2. Access to Inappropriate Content is probably the first thing that comes to mind for adults when their children start getting online.  Fortunately, it is one of the easier challenges to address.

Native Content Filtering:

Most devices (IOS, MAC, WIN, Android) come equipped with native Content Filtering Mechanisms built in.  With a little bit of work, you will be able apply age-appropriate settings to the websites, games, and video streaming applications on your tablets, PC, or phone.  There are however couple downsides:

• You’ll have to make these changes in a few different spots.

• Changes need to be applied for each device your child has access to.

• You will not be notified of violations.

• Applications may have their own settings.

On IOS devices most of these settings can be configured through Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Content Restrictions.  When you enable this feature, you will be prompted to configure a PIN.  Remember this PIN as you will need it to manage these settings going forward. From here you can configure limits on Music, Movies, TV Shows, Apps, Web Content, Siri Search and Game Center.

Now, just because you turned these things off, doesn’t mean you can’t access them. For example: if your child wants a new App, you can enter your PIN and make changes on your child’s behalf. While this may be inconvenient, it provides a parental gate review.

Application Specific Settings:

Generally speaking, the Content Filtering Settings you set at the Operating System Level do not carry over to Video Streaming Services.  In most cases you will need to set these for each streaming service.  Fortunately, Disney +, Amazon Prime Video, and Netflix all work more or less the same way.  You will be required to create two profiles. Your profile that is PIN protected and a secondary profile for your child with the appropriate G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17 ratings applied. 

Disney Plus Instructions

• Set passcode on Parental Profile

• Create Kid Profile

• Set Content Rating

Netflix

• Settings must be made on the web @ www.Netflix.com

• Turn on Profile Lock

• Note: be sure to check “Require parent’s PIN to add new profiles”. Otherwise, your child could create a new profile without restrictions.

Amazon Prime Video

• Settings are controlled from www.Amazon.com

• Settings > Parental Controls

• Create a PIN

• Set Viewing Restrictions

• Apply to selected devices

Roblox

• Under Settings Parental Controls you can restrict games by Age, limit monthly spend, disable or limit chat features.

• As with the aforementioned Video Services, it is important to set a parental PIN to prevent your child from modifying the settings.

Other Options:

If you have multiple devices to manage you may want to consider a 3rd party software solution.  These solutions will allow you to centrally manage Internet Activity and Block Apps.  And because these solutions are typically managed in the cloud you will have real time visibility into the sites and apps your child is using.  Some of these options are particularly compelling because they offer additional features like Malware and phishing controls all for $30-100 depending on device count.  The following software vendors offer solutions to help manage and monitor your child’s digital world.  Nearly all provide basic web filtering, monitoring and screen time management.

• Netnanny (www.netnanny.com): Features include web content filtering, social media content filtering, location

• Qustudio (www.qustudio.com): Feature include web content, phone and SMS monitoring, location, social media monitoring

• Bark(www.bark.us): Features include web content filtering, app control, monitoring social media, text messages, email and photos

• WebSafety (www.websafety.com): Features include monitoring of web and social media and location. Limited enforcement/blocking.

• Norton 360 (www.us.norton) – Content filter with the added benefit of Anti-Malware

• Sophos  – Content filter with the added benefit of Anti-Malware

• McAfee –– Content filter with the added benefit of Anti-Malware

Another option would be the installation of a Network Firewall or using a DNS filter provider.  These will allow you to manage Web Categories and will also provide varying degrees of Malware Protection, but the down side is they will not help with content within allowed applications or when your child connects from another network.

Summary:

Hopefully some of these suggestions provide you with a starting point for managing the online content your children are accessing.  Trust your kids to do the right thing and leverage some of the techniques above to verify they are doing so.