Children these days grow up in an environment that is dominated by technology and the vast landscape of the Internet. While the internet has content and information that is educational and has opportunities for entertainment, it is also essential that kids understand the importance of internet safety from a young age. And we as parents have a crucial role to play by having measures that guarantee the best internet security for kids.
Some years before, when my kids were young, it was essential to teach them road safety by practising how to cross roads or how to take lanes. Similarly, now it is much-needed to help them traverse the virtual world through safe internet practices with the same level of awareness and caution.
Let us now discuss some strategies to keep kids safe in the internet world. One of these strategies is to use Happinetz, a boon to every parent to provide SafeInternetForKids. It guarantees the best internet security for your kids.
5 ways to keep kids safe in the internet world:
Online privacy
Teach kids online privacy by explaining that personal information like name, address, school name, and phone number should only be shared with trusted individuals and not anyone else without permission.
Phishing and scams
Make them aware of phishing and scams by explaining ways to identify phishing and scam emails targeting to steal information. Educate them about suspicious links and the dangers that follow when we accidentally click on them.
Strong passwords
Encourage them to create strong and unique passwords for accounts which are difficult to crack. Make them understand the importance of not sharing passwords with friends.
Living in harmony online
Kids need to be taught the importance of treating people with respect online as much as they are taught to behave offline. Since cyberbullying has increased, it is important that kids behave with empathy and compassion to fellow beings both online and offline.
The power of discernment
Make them understand the importance of critical thinking about the information they come across online. Not all they see is credible and accurate so they should have a discerning eye to navigate the digital world.
Open communication with kids is the foundation of their online safety. An environment that is conducive for them to discuss anything that happens online must be present at home.
The powerful tool that the internet is, can enrich our lives, but kids should be made aware of the risks that it comes with and of the ways to safeguard them.
Happinetz – your box of happiness that guarantees the best Internet Security for your Kids
Two years back, when people asked me if there was something that I worried about my kids, I told them their nutritional intake and growth as per age was my constant worry. Cut to reality now, if I’m being asked the same question, my answer would be their exposure to the wide world of the Internet and making sure they are safe.
Reading spine-chilling instances of cybercrimes involving children and paedophiles in the guise of genuine users gives me the creeps because kids these days need screens not only for entertainment but also for education purposes thanks to COVID-19 and online schooling. Parents being busy in their work schedule and household chores find it difficult to constantly monitor what kids watch and whether it is age-appropriate.
Technology is now an integral part of our lives, monitoring the screen time for kids and filtering out content that is not age-appropriate is an important responsibility for us parents that cannot be overlooked.
This is when I stumbled upon Happinetz, the perfect solution that guarantees the best Internet Security for kids. It is a box that helps filter out age-inappropriate content and manages the amount of screen time for kids. The box is easy to install and can be connected wired or wireless to your existing router. A mobile application installed on your phone will give you the control to set screen time limits, block content, and even enable/disable categories based on need.
The box can monitor up to ten devices and can even be placed in the kids’ room as it can work wirelessly. Here is how Happinetz can be your solution that guarantees the best Internet Security for kids.
Set different modes
The device has three different modes with different access capabilities- parent, teen, and kid. Each of these modes has their predefined settings which can be customised as the need arises. The customization can be with respect to the different categories of content being watched and the whitelisting/blacklisting of links.
Filtering apps and websites age appropriately
Happinetz categorises the internet, be it from applications or websites under 15 categories which help in filtering out age-inappropriate content. A toggle button helps to turn these on and off in case the setting needs to be changed. However, this is not applicable to the categories Adult & Security and Safe Search. You can also block certain domains by using the advanced feature.
Monitor screen time, pause, and extend timelines
This is my favourite feature that gives me the control to pause the internet for a particular device. How cool is that? The app lets you monitor the screen time, categorizing what websites or apps were browsed and which devices were used.
Apart from this, there is a feature to get an SOS notification when the box is turned off or gets disconnected. One more interesting feature is that if a device disconnects from the Happinetz network, you get notified so no smart work by the kid would work here. Not only that, there are also notifications for the time period ending and if the device is in parent mode for more than 6 hours.
The box is easy to set up and adding devices can be done in a jiffy once you get used to using the app. This is a must-have in all households hereafter, given that we know that we are going to be living in this technology-driven world that will need kids to be with screens. Now you need not worry about what they are watching or how long they are on the screens. Toggling on categories was initially tricky for me to figure out but now I’m loving the control that I have of their screen times. There is a lot for me to learn as a parent from the app and my experience so far has been good. This would be a good investment and worth the price.
Thanks to Happinetz, I can now be stress-free as it guarantees the best Internet security for kids. I am hoping that the meltdowns will now start to reduce. I am now confident that my kids will be responsible digital citizens thanks to Happinetz, while they cherish the beauty of offline moments alongside.