The Internet can be an incredible place for children to learn, create, play, and connect with others. But the same platforms that provide entertainment and social connection can expose children to inappropriate content, scams, cyberbullying, grooming, exploitation, and other online threats.
Keeping children safe online is not about completely restricting their access to technology. It is about combining education, supervision, privacy practices, device security, and network protection.
Think of online safety as a layered approach:
- Teach children how to make safe decisions.
- Use the security tools available on their devices and network.
- Maintain an environment where children feel secure reporting anything that makes them anxious or afraid.
Children should understand that information shared online can travel far beyond its intended audience.
Teach children not to share publicly:
- Full name
- Home address
- School name
- Daily routine
- Phone number
- Passwords
- Family financial information
- Real-time or live location
- Daily routines
- Travel plans
- Photos showing house numbers, school IDs, uniforms, or other identifying details
- Private family conversations
- Personal documents
- Information about where a parent works
- Social Media accounts
A useful rule is:
Children should also understand that a person they meet online may not be who they claim to be. A profile photo, username, voice, or claimed age does not prove someone's identity.
UNICEF recommends helping children understand who they communicate with, who can see what they post, and the lasting nature of their digital footprint.
Be especially careful with biometric information:
Biometric data such as:
- Facial recognition
- Fingerprints
- Voiceprints
- Iris or retinal information
- Other biological or behavioral identifiers used to recognize a person
Unlike a password, biometric information cannot simply be replaced if compromised.
Before allowing services to collect a child’s biometric information, parents should ask:
- Why is it needed?
- Who receives it?
- How is it protected?
- How long is it retained?
- Is it shared with third parties?
- Can it be deleted?
- Is there a non-biometric alternative?
Parents should not rely solely on a child's judgment. Network security can provide another layer of protection, particularly for younger children.
Many Linksys smart WiFi and Velop Mesh routers include features that help parents manage Internet access throughout the home. These are:
1. Parental Controls
Parents can:
- Block specific websites
- Restrict access to categories of sites
- Pause Internet access for a child's device
- Create schedules for homework time, bedtime, or screen-free hours
Practical example: Allow educational websites during school hours and automatically disable gaming and social media access after 9:00 PM.
2. Device Prioritization
Prioritize devices used for:
- Online classes
- Video Conferencing
- Educational apps
This helps prevent gaming downloads from slowing down school-related activities.
3. Guest Network
Create a separate Guest WiFi network for visitors. Children should connect only to the family network so parental controls remain active.
4. Keep router firmware updated
Regular firmware updates fix security vulnerabilities that attackers could exploit.
Good practice: check for updates at least once a month through the router's web interface.
5. Enable Instant-Safety
This feature enables OpenDNS on your network to help protect your family by blocking predefined adult, illegal, and malicious content.
This is why a router should be viewed as one layer of protection, not a substitute for parental supervision.
Children should understand that dangerous people online do not necessarily look or behave dangerously. A cyber-offender may pretend to be a child’s age, share the child’s interests, offer gifts or game items, give compliments, or gradually build trust.
Warning signs include an individual who:
- Asks the child to keep conversations secret.
- Requests private photographs or videos.
- Asks personal questions.
- Offers money, gifts, or game items in exchange for something.
- Tries to move the conversation to another messaging platform.
- Makes sexual comments or requests.
- Threatens, blackmails, or intimidates the child.
- Attempts to arrange an in-person meeting.
Teach children that:
- “Don’t tell your parents” is a major warning sign.
- An online friend is not automatically a trusted friend.
- A convincing profile, avatar, username, or voice does not prove someone’s identity.
- They will not be punished for telling a trusted adult about something frightening, embarrassing, or inappropriate that happened online.
Online games and virtual worlds can be positive experiences, but many include communication features that allow strangers to interact directly with children.
Before allowing a child to use a game or virtual platform, check for the presence of:
- Text chat
- Voice chat
- Private messaging
- Friend requests
- Group invitations
- Image and video sharing
- Links to external websites
- Location features
- In-game purchases
- Privacy and parental control settings
Where appropriate:
- Disable or restrict voice chat
- Limit communication to known friends
- Disable unsolicited friend requests
- Restrict private messages
- Turn OFF unnecessary location sharing
- Require approval for purchases
- Teach children how to block and report users
- Review their online friends periodically
Monitor virtual currency:
Cybercriminals often lure players by offering digital goods, which include but are not limited to:
- Free Skins: Cosmetic items that alter the visual appearance of characters, weapons, or vehicles.
- Robux: The exclusive virtual currency used within the global gaming platform Roblox.
- V-Bucks: The official in-game currency used to purchase items in Fortnite.
- Minecoins: The virtual currency used to buy community content in Minecraft (Bedrock Edition).
- Gift Cards: Digital or physical vouchers used to add real-world funds to gaming accounts.
- In-Game Items: Rare weapons, gear, or tools that provide gameplay or aesthetic upgrades.
These offers are often used to build trust or manipulate children into continuing contact.
Parents do not need to understand every game their child plays. They do need to know with whom their child can communicate and what information can be shared.
Technology works best when it is combined with clear family rules and regular conversations.
Establish simple expectations:
1. Protect your information.
2. Do not communicate privately with strangers in ways that make you uncomfortable.
3. Never send private or intimate photographs.
4. Do not meet online-only friends without a parent or guardian knowing.
5. Never keep an unsafe online relationship a secret.
6. Block and report inappropriate behavior.
7. Tell a trusted adult immediately when something feels wrong.
When serious incidents occur, it is important that relevant evidence is preserved. Particularly in cases involving threats, sexual exploitation, blackmail, or inappropriate images. Above all, children need to know that asking for help will never get them in trouble. The goal of online safety is not to keep children away from technology. It is to help them use technology confidently while reducing unnecessary risks.
