Governing Your Child’s Gadgets

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How to keep safe in a connected world

By Lynn Hargrove, Director, Consumer Solutions for Symantec (Canada) Corp.

With the holidays fast approaching and children jotting down lists of what they’d like under the tree this year, electronics are sure to be tops. Tech gadgets have come a long way since I was a little girl and so have the dangers associated with them.

Getting your child a camera is entirely different now than it was, say, 20 years ago. Back then, the camera probably involved film, which you controlled because it was you who bought the film and took it to be developed into photos. Now cameras connect to the internet in a snap (pardon the pun) and kids with basic reading skills are able to upload their images. The change in technology has really made it easier for children to put themselves in comprising situations. And it’s not just photographs – video cameras, cellphones, gaming systems, social networking sites, even harmless looking toys can all be of equal concern to parents.

So how do you parent in an electronic world? The key is ground rules.

1. Set a weekly or daily amount of time that your children can spend online. Norton has a free tool called Norton Online Family that can track usage, site visits and boot your children offline when they’ve gone over their allotted time. The service also shows your what you kids are really doing online and helps you spot potential dangers before they become problems.

2.Know what toys/gadgets connect to the internet and take the lead in setting them up with your child. Talk about what’s acceptable to post online and what is not. This is solid advice for the tween to teen category – some think since children have grown up with technology that they understand it, but parental guidance is needed. Think about the mistakes you made at that age and imagine if they were available online for someone to read today. Not cool. Protecting your children takes on a whole new meaning online.

3. It’s not all about the physical technology, sometimes it’s the digital dangers that can get children in trouble. Adults fall for phishing and ‘click here’ scams daily, so children are likely to click before they think too. Help protect your files and information by having an up-to-date security suite like Norton 360 and by teaching your children to think before they click. This is an exercise for the whole family.

For additional resources and ideas on how to talk to your family about the dangers online, visit the Family Resource page on the Norton website and keep reading Canadian Parents’ Cyber Moms Club weekly newsletter.