Essential Tips for Keeping Kids Safe Online

Carphone Warehouse highlights the importance of safety online for children with iKydz range

 

Carphone Warehouse has teamed up with leading child online safety expert Anne McCormack to help parents create a safer internet environment for their children at home.

 

In conjunction with Carphone Warehouse, Anne has created essential tips for parents to help them monitor screen time and ensure they know what their child is accessing online.

 

This partnership follows on from the introduction of the iKydz range to Carphone Warehouse stores earlier this month.  iKydz is a clever, simple, and effective internet control solution that gives parents the ability to block or schedule access to websites and apps, filter content and easily manage their child’s time online. Designed as an easy-to-use, plug and play solution that can be installed and ready to go in less than ten minutes, the device simply connects to the broadband router and is controlled using the free to download the iKydz app. This allows the user to manage all the connected devices in the home.

 

According to a recent study* by Cyber Safely Ireland, 32% of children talk to a stranger online every week, yet 15% of children report that they rarely, if ever, talk to their parents about online safety.

 

As the use of smartphones and tablets at home for both entertainment and education is continuing to rise these tips like the iKydz range have been created to give parents peace of mind and manage what their children are accessing on the internet.

 

Speaking about iKydz and keeping children safe online, Anne McCormack comments:

“A device like iKydz is a crucial tool for any parent who lets their children use the internet at home. Filtering content and limiting the amount of time kids spend online helps keep them safe and also gives parents peace of mind. Nothing matters more to parents than keeping their children safe, and these tips and products like iKydz allows them to do so.”

 

 

Anne McCormack’s Tips for Keeping Children Safe Online

1. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that you must be technologically savvy as a parent in order to protect your child online.
2. Set rules around technology, when and where children can use technology. For example, no internet use until homework is complete, no screens at the dinner table, no screens in bedrooms at night, time limits on social media sites and passwords must be shared with parents. Be open to renegotiating the rules as your child grows.
3. Before allowing your child onto social media sites, have a look at the channels yourself so that you are familiar with how they work, the content and features and most importantly the security settings.
4. Stay tuned in to who your child is following online. Ask why that person/game/celebrity interests them. Talk regularly about their experiences of people online and ask how the content they view is making them feel.
5. Do not say yes to your child having certain apps or social media sites because of peer pressure. If your child experiences peer pressure, turn this into an opportunity to teach them to manage peer pressure well rather than feeling the peer pressure transfer to you as a parent.
6. Online safety devices like iKydz that filter the content your child can access, how and when they go online are useful tools.
7. Speak to your child about how to treat others online and make sure they understand the importance of not sharing personal data with people they do not know.
8. Enjoy the internet with your child, after all it is a useful tool when it comes to both education and entertainment. By joining them in the fun part of this journey into a life online, you will be in a better position to mentor and support them as the need arises.

 

The iKydz range is available to buy in Carphone Warehouse stores nationwide and online at www.carphonewarehouse.ie

 

 

*research was carried out by Cyber Safe Ireland in 2018 as part of its annual report.

About iKydz

The award-winning iKydz is everything that a parent wants and needs to help manage their kids online – simple, easy-to-use parental internet control, with just one app on your phone. Used by families in over 28 countries around the world, iKydz is the easiest way to parent your children online.

 

There are two products from iKydz currently available at Carphone Warehouse.

iKydz Home (€99) gives parents full internet control at home, allowing them to manage any internet connected device in the home, including phones, tablets, PCs, smart TVs, and gaming consoles. Features include aged based restrictions, website blocking, app blocking, content filtering, internet usage monitor, and the ability to restrict WIFI to individual devices. iKydz Pro (€139) contains all iKydz Home’s functionality, only faster and with more LAN ports.