Kids Are Back In School!

You Made Your List, Checked It Twice,

But Your Work May Not Be Quite Done

September is here and that means kids around the country are back in school. Like many parents, you probably spent a lot of time purchasing, labeling and organizing supplies and getting those new outfits ready for the start of the school year. Finally, the back-to-school checklist is complete…or is it?

Depending on the age of your child, he or she may be taking a cell phone to or from school, or may have even been given a laptop or tablet by the school for home use during the school year. Did your checklist include reminders to secure all Internet-enabled devices to make sure your child is safe while using the devices?

For cell phones, that means taking the time to adjust security settings (location and search history, what information others see about your child). You’ll also want to make sure to set up Parental Controls and filters which will allow you to see or restrict the type of content available to your child as well as the restrict the types of games available to your child.

If your child received a laptop or tablet for home use, first and foremost, be familiar with your school district’s policies regarding acceptable use, rules and expectations. School-provided laptops should already have filters set, but it’s best to make sure. If a child takes the same device to a network that is not secure, the gates are wide open to all kinds of dangerous content, language, and online predators.

If your not sure about the security of school-provided devices, ask your school administration so that you feel comfortable before allowing your child to use the device.

Not Sure How to Secure Your Child’s Cell Phone? Here’s a Helpful Guide!

Learn how to:

Set Safe Searches

Utilize Parental Controls

Monitor Device Activity

Block Websites

Block Illegal Content and Pornography

Limit Use of Phone

…and more!

InternetSafety101.org