Three to seven year old children vaguely understand the tactics used by search engines to attract followers and to promote products. More importantly, they are not able to capture the risks associated with using the internet or disclosing personal information.
Parents need to establish guidelines for internet use very early in order to counteract the risks. Below are some of the recommendations from https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents :
– Apply strict rules about time allowed on the digital device.
– Educate yourself on the characteristics of developmentally appropriate computer applications.
– Monitor the internet usage for all the family members and let the children know that this is happening.
– Supervise what the child is accessing online.
– Participate in online games with the children. Sharing in the child’s interest will facilitate the establishment of trust between the parent and the child and the discussion on e-safety in the long term.
– Familiarise yourself with the guides to computer applications and disable chat functions and cameras.
– Save the computer applications that are age appropriate and block the ones that are not.
– Make sure the child cannot purchase a product or service online by mistake.
– Discuss acceptable behaviours online as early as possible. Ask the children to discuss what they see online with adults especially if something is annoying, disturbing, or makes them uncomfortable.
– Disconnect devices at meal times so they are not active at the expense of socialising with the family members.
– Make sure that the devices are not used prior to bedtime and are not accessible to the child during the night.
Future Global Children 