Showing posts with label Child and Technology. Show all posts

Protecting children from the Internet and provide security and safety while browsing

How do I protect my son from the dangers of the Internet:

I'm going to walk you through the latest safe browsing tips for kids 12 and under, many of them according to the American Academy of Pediatrics:

Keep an eye on your child's web browser at all times:

This means sitting next to or near your child every time they navigate the jungle known as the Internet, i.e. they have to surf the web in an open area where you can easily see the screen.

Teach them to maintain their privacy and private information:

Always insist that your children never reveal their real names, where they live, where they go to school, or where they play (the same rule applies to any other personal and confidential information).

Take advantage of parental controls in your browser:

Most Internet browsers (including Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, and Internet Explorer) have an Internet Options folder where you can easily set up security safeguards, content filters for language, nudity, gender, and violence, or preferably just allow your kids to use safe browsers made especially for kids.

Stay with your child during their online conversations:

If you allow your kids to chat with friends online, make sure they are real "real life" friends, and you can help kids create personalized, verified chat room nicknames (and Club Penguin online or other memberships in the kids' virtual world) that don't have Their real names and other private data Always keep an eye on their chat activity or better yet, don't let them chat at all.

Don't let your kids shop online without you.

You'll be amazed how quickly children can memorize or write down your credit card numbers, including important 3-digit security codes. If you let them buy something online, enter your financial details yourself when they're not around.

Only allow your children to play games that are appropriate for their age on gaming websites.

Bypass or turn off the Internet:

Now that your kids' internet usage is under control why not make their offline video game habits the option? Start by setting up parental controls on your Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation Vita, or whatever portable game system or console they can't get their hands on.

Online time tracking:

The Australian Guidelines for Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior recommend that children between the ages of five and seventeen spend no more than two hours on screens per day. Therefore, it is important to monitor the time your child, especially young children, spend online, and even to make sure they do not develop bad habits. Get your children to agree to a period time, say 30 minutes per session, and set a timer to go off (don't forget to make the end time non-negotiable) You should also turn off your home Wi-Fi at a set time each night (preferably before bedtime) so everyone has a break from the internet You can also try setting aside some “device and internet free” days in your home to encourage everyone to pursue other, more active, less technology-dependent ways of entertaining themselves.

Stay up to date on social media:

Educate yourself about safe ways on social networks that enable you to give the best advice to your children, for example, sign up for the social networks and apps your children use, learn how to use privacy settings and reporting mechanisms, and then talk to your children about how they can stay safe on social networks, including talking to someone Reliable when they are concerned, and understand the concept of cyberbullying as perpetrator and victim.

Well, in short, if your child uses social networks, make sure they know how to:

Report inappropriate and/or offensive posts.
ban someone.
Maintaining the privacy of information.

Leading by example:

Set a good example and always like the kind of positive online behavior you want your children to use. If they see you or their parent as being careful and respectful when online, they are more likely to follow in your footsteps, and yes of course that includes limiting your own time using the Internet.

To protect your child further from the Internet:

You may not want to instill fear in the hearts of your children or prevent them from experiencing the many educational, entertainment, social and other advantages that the Internet provides, but you must give them the skills and knowledge they need to know how to make the most of them and avoid the dangers, so try these two procedures in addition to the above:

Dialogue about issues:

There are a lot of stories in the news about people misusing the internet and getting into serious trouble. You can share some of these stories with your kids. Kids need to understand the risks, so talk to them about your concerns. But don't make it all negative. There are lots of positive ways to make use of the internet. Also discuss it with your children.

Use technology to build a relationship with your children:

Sending texts or messages through social media to your children can open a dialogue that may not be usual between you two, children today love to communicate using technology so why not join in by understanding how different tools work and then using them to interact with your children. Considering that this technology cannot replace face-to-face contact with your children, so take your child out for ice cream or sit on the couch and talk and have a good time that the Internet will not give you.

In the end, using the Internet is a double-edged sword. Always try to protect your child from it, as you protect him from falling or from bad behavior, and remember that psychological harm may be more severe than physical harm, so there are useful sites that may help you to some extent in controlling your son's activity or even reporting certain abuses But your oversight is the most important.

The impact of technology on children:

There is no doubt that you have noticed the impact of technology on raising children and that your child’s lifestyle has changed and addiction to the use of electronic devices has become more than anything else, which negatively affects your child and his life.

The negative effects of technology:

So learn about the impact of technology on children, and the most prominent negative effects of technology are:

Exposure to obesity:

Your child who is addicted to using technology may become more likely to gain weight as a result of sitting for long hours to play on smart devices.

superficial thinking:

Your child's addiction to using them makes him think about things in a superficial way and keeps him away from deep thinking and creativity.

Damage to his social relationships:

As the child gets preoccupied with electronic games and forgets his interaction with his peers and his response to them.

hinder ability to learn:

Addiction to these devices hinders learning basic things such as walking, talking, playing ball, eating and more.

Prevent your child from practicing his outdoor activities:

His preoccupation with electronics prevents him from playing sports and playing with peers.

learn violence:

Your child playing violent games on his devices makes him develop his aggressive nature as well as practicing violence with you and his peers.

Study retreat:

The use of tablets reduces concentration while studying.

Your child's ill health:

Excessive exposure of your child to electronic gadgets leads to ill health such as poor eyesight, neck pain, and others.

Advantages of electronic devices for children:

Children’s use of electronic devices and technology in moderation ensures that many benefits will be achieved, most notably:

Enhance learning ability:

If your child is under five years old, using electronic devices in moderation helps to enhance their ability to learn and speak, and visual representation can be useful to increase their senses.

Enhance analysis skills:

Your child's practice of some electronic games enhances cognitive learning and analytical skills (password), and this helps your child increase his innovative ideas and strategic thinking.

Decision-making and implementation skills:

Some of the video games your child uses are based on time and speed, such as arranging the cubes before the time runs out. These games teach your child to make decisions and implement them quickly.

Controlling children's use of electronic devices and technology:

In the age of technology, it is difficult for you to prevent your child from using electronic devices. Therefore, you can control children's use of electronic devices and technology through the following to get the benefits of the impact of technology on children and adolescents:

Limit your child's daily use of electronic devices while respecting when your child prefers to use them (morning, afternoon or evening).
Explain to your child the negative effects of addiction to smart devices.
Encourage your child to go out and play with peers in the park.
Teach your child to use tablets in a meaningful way, such as watching a useful children's program or sending a message to a friend on social media.
Use electronic devices in moderation so that your child can imitate you, as you are a role model for him.
Try to find out why your child wants to use electronic devices.
Don't put electronic devices in your child's room.
Use parental controls to limit exposure to violence and pornography.
Teach your child games away from technology, such as playing ball and swimming with peers, which will help him limit its use.

Apps that allow you to control your child's use of technology:

You can monitor your child's use of electronic devices as well as the use of the Internet through a set of applications for smartphones running iPhone or Android for parents, including:

Dinner Time Parental Control App:

This app restricts the time your child can use their smartphone, you can pause your child's activity on your Android smartphone or tablet; So he can focus on things like homework as well as exercise and family time.

Once the device is paused, all functionality on their device is blocked, including the ability to send texts and play with apps.

To use the app, install it on your child's device and enter your phone number to link the two devices. You can then set specific break times ranging from 30 minutes to three hours, at which point the device will shut down, and a countdown screen displayed on the child's device will show when it can be used again.

Dinner Time Plus app:

A free app that allows you to manage the apps your child uses and see the apps they use in real time. You can also purchase detailed reports, which determine how much time kids spend on certain apps and how often they use them.

Screen Time app:

It allows you to press a button on your child's phone to prevent them from using it. You can also set daily time limits for certain apps. The Android app requires a $3.99 per month subscription.

Do not prevent your child from using electronics to benefit from the impact of technology on children, as it is the language of the times, but let him use it in moderation, under your eyes and with your supervision, and spend more time with your child, play with him, teach him some skills and hobbies that have nothing to do with technology, and tell him about the fun of playing with friends in the air Thus, you will ensure that your child will pick up the positives of technology and avoid its negatives.

Exposing the child to screens:

The child should not be exposed to screens such as mobile phones, televisions, electronic tablets... before the age of 3 years, as they cause many harms, including delay in the speech and pronunciation processes, as the child cannot understand the information and express it. hypothetical. It also becomes antisocial.

baby monitors:

Screen children whose language is incomprehensible and have a special melody as if they were robots, like cartoon characters. Many studies confirmed that children exposed to electronic screens suffer from sleep disturbances and insomnia. This leads to a lack of focus and attention, and the child is indifferent to many details around him. His thinking is limited and incapable of creativity. Frequent electronic use of mobile devices is also linked to behavioral problems, as the child is very aggressive through being influenced by characters in electronic games or characters in animated pictures.

The negative effect of electronic screens is according to the age stage. In the school stage, its effect is through poor school performance, and the child or student becomes unable to concentrate and has relative problems in memory (near or distant memory, for example, memorization).

Through his use of the Internet, the child is exposed to inappropriate materials. There are several other disadvantages, as spending a lot of time in front of the screen causes eye strain

When should we allow a child to be exposed to screens?

It is preferable to allow the child to watch screens after the age of 4 years and not to leave them for a long time.

And he should accompany the parents and talk to him. The same applies to mobile phones or electronic screens. The child must be under constant monitoring, and he must be dialogued with and made aware of these harms.

The effect of screens on the child:

The TV screen, mobile phone and computer affect the development of the child until the age of 10 years.

A child is a person who feels, sees, hears, and a lot of focus on the actions, movements, and looks of those around him. Starting from birth until the age of 10 or 12 years, there are reactions specific to this age group, so the child tries to imitate those around him in movements, actions, and looks. The amount of dealing with him properly will be his growth and movements and his gradual habituation to speaking naturally.

Character build age:

Starting from the age of two years to the limits of 4 or 5 years, the age of building the personality and ego, expressing desires, starting to speak, responding when talking to him, looking into his eyes, starting to name things by their names, and introducing the child to these things.

And getting used to movement, walking, running, jumping and playing to get to know the surroundings and touching things with his hand to get to know them and to activate the muscles of the hand and get them used to writing in the future.

And speaking to identify the colors and numbers and things around him and pronounce their names.

And the people around the child must accustom him to this because it is the most important period of time to qualify the child for the future, because if he learns the language and communication, he will be able to build his personality and express his love and hatred for things.

Language, movement and social communication must be developed.

From the age of 5 years to 10 and 12 years is the age to qualify for study to learn writing and draw a relationship between it and the paper and pen.

At this age, the child should be asked about his states of joy and sadness, and most of his attention-grabbing behaviors in order to get closer to him and understand him more.

Screen damage:

The entry of the screen into the life of the child contributed to many changes because it contains a lot of movement, colors, sounds, music and most of the things that attract the attention of the child. Therefore, from birth to the age of two years, the child must be removed from the screen permanently, because in this particular period the child must be accustomed to communication With the environment and getting used to speech and the way of pronouncing letters and words and their meanings, it is necessary to talk to the child at this age because he understands us and hears us.

Between the ages of 3, 4 and 5 years:

When leaving a child in front of a TV or computer screen, he seeks to integrate into that imaginary virtual world without the awareness of the parents of the danger of this world, which distances him from reality and truth.

Imagination exists in all children, and normal imagination helps him to develop intelligence, while imaginary imagination is very dangerous because the child builds a world of his own, far from reality, with fake voices and characters, and becomes unable to respond to calls by his name because he is immersed in his virtual world.

Even the emotional interaction becomes with his emotional world and has nothing to do with real emotions.

Speech delay:

Speech delay is a result of the child's rejection of the protective world and his attachment to his imaginary world because he is affected by the screen and the language that connects him to its world because he has become affected by something fixed, which is the screen.

This results in a delay in speech and social communication, lack of response when talking to him, reaching the stage of autism, and damage to the eye by not being able to focus as a result of damage to the eye muscles, and thus the inability to study and receive, which affects behavior that becomes aggressive and Violent inability to express

Also, excessive movement, the desire to stay away from people, difficulty in choosing, and personality disorder.

solutions:

Keep the child away from the screen permanently at the age between birth and two years.
At the age of between 3, 4 and 5 years, the process of the child watching the screen becomes monitored between half an hour or 45 minutes, but with the supervision of the guardian by participating in the viewing process and engaging in conversation with him to inform him of the negative and the positive.
Playing with children.
Enabling the child to choose colors, dress up games... and respect his choices
His participation in the choices of parents and their lives.

Steps to protect children while browsing YouTube:

After the YouTube company was subjected to a lot of criticism during the last period due to the presence of videos that are not suitable for children, especially pornographic clips, which made many brands spread strongly on YouTube, and therefore there are some steps that you will take to protect children by following these steps:

In the beginning, you will go to the filters and enter the settings in the upper corner with activating the option called “restrictive filter”, which allows Google to remove all bad pornographic videos that appear to children and that are not suitable for them.
Stay away from suggested videos that may include videos that are inappropriate for their age, and you can stop this matter through some Google or Firefox add-ons.
You can download an ad blocker program that protects your children from suggested ads and some outgoing clips. These ads appear constantly, so you must stop them, so the child is not exposed to bad ads.
You can create “Playlist” lists, which is a list of what the child prefers, which he will only see by pressing the + sign, and add everything you want after that very easily.
YouTube is also not suitable for children without the knowledge of their parents, despite the fact that there are programs for children, which are completely the most popular, and if your child is under 13 years old, you should not allow your child to use YouTube.

Protecting children from YouTube:

The YouTube service is one of the free services for all social groups and different ages, and it is a great place for learning, but there are some videos and advertisements that are offensive and unsuitable for children that appear unconsciously, and no one knows that such videos appear to children.

But the quality of the video that appears to children is not appropriate for them, but the interest and taste of your child must be present in a large way, and selecting the content is the most important thing for you, and it is possible for your child to show some pornographic clips that are directed to adults, but children fall into them.

Ways to protect children from YouTube:

Using the restricted mode through which inappropriate videos are hidden and reported by users, and therefore the videos will be unsafe and you will go to the settings and activate the restricted mode, which is an additional step to protect children.
You can download the YouTube Kids application, which is directed only to children in particular, and combines videos and channels for children and cares for the child, whether it is educational, entertainment, or animation. With this application, you can remove everything that is bad for your child, and it is one of the applications that is characterized by a very simple design and aims to protect The child is one of the bad and porn videos.
Download the new Kids Tube application, which is the easy and important way to protect your child from bad programs and advertisements that the child should not see. It is concerned with the simple design of the Arab child and there are some children's channels such as Karamish and Birds of Paradise and many other channels that children love away from programs and channels Bad things that encourage children to violence and badly offend others.