Keeping your children safe online

Paige Atkinson is the elementary director at Morrison Heights Baptist Church. She has been in children’s ministry for over twenty-five years and is pursuing a Master of Arts in discipleship and family ministry.

By Guest Columnist Paige Atkinson

Children today have several names, according to Sissy Goff, in her book, Taming the Technology Monster – “digital natives, the iGeneration, the selfie generation” – and the list goes on, with all the names revolving around one word – technology.

She goes on to point out that they will be the first generation who will have “technology as a prominent force in their daily lives as long as they can remember.” It makes sense then that parents are concerned about keeping their children safe online. 

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Let’s step back for a moment and look at some numbers to understand why online safety is so important. On average, five- to eight-year-old children, Goff points out, spend approximately three hours per day on a screen, while teenagers are averaging nine hours a day on a screen.  With screen time at such a high, Tony Bianco, Student Minister at Houston’s First Baptist Church, warns that ninety-three percent of boys and sixty-two percent of girls will see pornography by the time they are eighteen. With this much time spent in front of a screen, and with the inevitable fact that children will see things we do not wish them to see, it is crucial to have the right safeguards in place.

Here are a few ideas: First, set boundaries. It is imperative that parents, as the gatekeepers to technology for their children, need to watch closely once their children begin engaging with technology or social media. 

“If it is under your roof,” Goff writes, “you ultimately are in control.” 

Second, stay ahead of the game. Before allowing your children to access social media, load apps on their phone, or play a new video game, learn as much as you can first. Don’t wait until it is too late. Tim Challies stresses that parents must teach children how to then use the technology responsibly. 

Thirdly, supervise online/video chatting. Be sure children are chatting in a central location in the home. 

Fourth, link your email to their itunes, email, and social media accounts. 

Lastly, cultivate an environment of communications with your child about technology. 

In order to implement these safeguarding tips, it’s important to know where to look.

Here are a few website and app ideas to get you started: 

1. Covenant Eyes – Designed to help you live free of pornography.

2. Protect Young Eyes – Gives a list of apps that are dangerous for children. 

3. Common Sense Media – Gives reviews, advice and tools. 

4. Bark – Monitors text messages, YouTube, emails, and more than thirty different social networks for potential safety concerns. 

I also recommended reading one or more of the following:

1. Generation iY, by Tim Elmore

2. 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You

3. Taming the Technology Monster

4. Tech Savvy Parenting

5. A Parent’s Guide to Understanding Social Media