As a parent, whenever you buy a smartphone for your children, thousands of questions arise in your mind. Your child can connect with anyone in the world through mobile and can consume any kind of content. Thinking this, it is obvious that you will be worried about safety. But there is nothing to worry about in this.
Follow some basic safety tips; after that, you can easily ensure the safety of your children while using the mobile. Let us know some tips you can follow when buying a smartphone for your children.
- Buy appropriate model
When buying a smartphone, choose a model that has parental control options. Such models are easily available in the market. Mobile companies make such models to meet the concerns of customers who want to buy smartphones for their children.
Through these models, parents can easily check and monitor every activity of their child. Through parental control, you can track what your child is doing on the device. Thus, always buy a model that lets you use parental control.
Such models are usually not expensive. It is fine if you still don’t want to spend your savings due to unforeseen future requirements. Borrow small loans irrespective of credit rating. You can get personal loans for bad credit in Ireland without any guarantor or collateral. But you need to prove repayment capacity.
- Establish usage rules
You have to communicate the rules of mobile usage to your children clearly. They understand whether it is about time limit or type of content. You have to tell your children some rules. These rules will always keep some limitations in the minds of your children.
They know how limited their time is when using mobile phones or what kind of content they can consume. This will not change your children’s mobile habits into addiction. At the same time, they can easily maintain a balance between other daily routines, such as studying and playing.
- Use parental controls
Buying a model with parental control is not sufficient. You have to use those parental controls regularly. It is often seen that parents themselves are so busy with their lifestyle. They do not pay much attention after getting the child a phone.
Sometimes parents themselves are so busy with their mobile that they do not care what their children are watching on their mobile. Therefore, monitor your children’s mobile every weekend by using parental control.
This also makes your children aware that you are always paying attention to their mobile usage. This practice gradually develops a responsible behavior in them.
- Monitor app downloads
Regularly monitor what kind of apps your children are downloading on their mobile phones. Open the apps and check their content. See their terms and conditions. Make sure they have not given acceptance to any wrong terms and conditions in any mobile app.
Many times, mobile app makers target small children to trick them into consuming adult content. They deliver adult content by using cartoon characters or animation. Find out which apps your children are downloading on their mobile phones.
- Inspire open communication
Always encourage open communication. Your children should know that if they notice any suspicious activity on their mobile, they can easily come and talk to you. Tell them if they find anything suspicious while using any of the devices, they can talk to you.
This happens only when you clearly communicate to your children that you are with them in any situation. Whenever your child comes to you with any problem, discuss politely and don’t judge.
- Teach about cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is a big threat in itself. It sometimes mentally depresses young children to such an extent that they even commit suicide. That is why it is very important for you to keep an eye on your children’s mobile phones.
But at the same time, it is also important that you educate your children about things like cyberbullying or scams. You cannot be with them 24*7. That is why you should teach them to detect activities like cyberbullying.
Also, explain to them that in case of any suspicious activity, they should immediately come and talk to you. If you feel that your children have any such problem, take action on it as soon as possible. This makes your child trust you and not hide anything from you.
- Lead by example
Long conversations may seem like lectures to young children. But if you explain things to them in a humble way by giving the right examples, they will understand very easily. If you read the good news that a child has informed his parents about some suspicious mobile activity, share it.
Inspire your children to come and talk to you as easily as they can whenever have needed. If you give them examples in a correct and polite way, they will definitely understand what you are saying. Also, they understand their responsibility to inform you of every activity.
- Check privacy settings
Check your children’s mobile privacy settings every weekend. Many times, as children grow older, they try to hide things from their parents. You need to check your children’s mobile privacy settings through parental control.
Also, go into the mobile app and check its privacy settings. The content of the apps can be controversial, so it is important that you follow this practice regularly. Keep one thing in mind: if you feel that your child is following a wrong setting, choose conversation over anger. This develops trust between you and the little humans, and they avoid making such a mistake in the future.
- Use tracking apps
You can find out the location of your children by using tracking apps. These tracking apps are installed on your mobile phone. You can find out the location by using their mobile number. Use them regularly so that you know whether your child is at a safe location or not.
If your child knowingly or unknowingly goes to any place due to any bad habit or company, take immediate precautionary steps. At a young age, the emotions of children are quite volatile; they can get influenced by anyone very quickly. Thus, you can ensure the safety of your children through tracking apps.
- Be aware of in-app purchases
Be cautious about in-app purchases on mobile. Sometimes, genuine products in apps are also sealed for genuine reasons, such as kitchen appliances or financial products like small loans online in Ireland. These are genuine products and of use. However, if your children are borrowing funds without your knowledge, it is a matter of concern.
In this situation, you know that the product or service is genuine, but your child should not click on advertisements randomly. Tell your children clearly that they will not make any kind of in-app purchases while using the mobile. But apart from this, you should also track every mobile activity from time to time through parental control.
Conclusion
By using all the simple but effective tips given above, you can easily ensure the safety of your children while using a smartphone. If you and your children follow small steps on a daily basis, you can convince them to follow responsible behaviour. For this, it is important that you take some caution. Despite your busy routine, pay a little attention to switching off your children’s mobile when they sleep.
