As coronavirus lockdowns around the world start to ease, travel is back on the agenda. But parents don’t always monitor their children’s online activities while travelling.
According to Kaspersky’s “Responsible Digital Parenting” survey, 84% of the parents in South Africa use their gadgets to entertain their child when they travel.
Furthermore, 29% of the respondents try to calm down their children with the help of devices and 20% aim to gain some spare time for themselves.
As a result, there is a chance that children are often left one-on-one with the gadgets.
What is more, 80% of South African children have their own smartphone or tablet, according to the survey – and the majority of children were 9-10 years old when they first got their own device.
Nevertheless, a quarter of South Africans have not discussed safety rules on the Internet with their child. This means that the children are not always aware of how to behave themselves safely online.
“Most parents give their children gadgets in order to entertain them, spare some time for themselves or calm down their kids,” says Andrey Sidenko, head of child safety at Kaspersky Network. “However, they shouldn’t use digital devices uncontrolled.
“It has been estimated by Kaspersky that 22% of South African parents would like to monitor their child’s digital life better. This can be done by limiting screen time and holding conversations; however, a security solution is needed as well.”
To teach children to use their gadgets in a beneficial way, and to safeguard them from inappropriate content, Kaspersky offers the following advice to parents:
* Explain to your child the ethics of the Internet (not to write anything offending or insulting, not to post embarrassing, indecent photos, etc.) and safety rules on the Internet (not to respond to strangers, not to publish too much private information etc).
* Communicate with your child. Discover his or her interests and suggest suitable materials and video bloggers. Ensure them that you are a modern parent who understands them and to whom they can always come for a piece of advice.
* Install a reliable security solution to monitor your child’s activity.