The Importance of Internet Safety as a Parent, Boundaries, and How SaferNet Helps
Hello, my name is Luke and I am a Dad to a 12-year-old boy. That’s us in the picture above. I wouldn’t change it for the world. However, there are quite a few things I wish I had more control of.
The internet is such a vast environment full of knowledge and answers that are extremely helpful to a developing child, but there are also some horrible avenues that our children could be exposed to. According to a Netmums Poll:
“42.1% of kids admit they have seen online porn. One in 16 have been exposed to hardcore pornography.”
Typically, when you search the internet for answers about internet safety the statistics are outstanding regarding the level of severity. It can be overwhelming and scary to find out what kind of things our kids can be at risk of seeing. As a parent, it’s 1000% my responsibility to keep my kid educated about the potential dangers of the web such as:
Predators – Older adults preying on children using fake accounts to talk to kids his age. This could be on social media, or even multi-player online games like World of Warcraft or Fortnite.
Viruses – These days, the most common way to get a virus is through hacked accounts on social media or games that send a link that contain a virus that can fry your phone/tablet/computer or steal all of your valuable information. Unfortunately, these links can get through spam filters a lot easier than you’d think.
Explicit Content – The stuff my kid knows he’s not supposed to see. This can vary all the way from videos with bad language to pornography.
It is also my sole responsibility to keep him safe from all of these potential dangers. He’s definitely at the age where he doesn’t appreciate me monitoring his internet usage, and can get an attitude if I command him to not do something. Then sometimes do it behind my back anyways! This is when I knew I had to set some boundaries that he couldn’t get around. I had to let him know I was serious about his safety and ultimately that I care for him enough to do something about it.
Investing in SaferNet helped bridge the gap of the unknown internet terrors and is helping keep my child safe. Not only are the privacy standards outstanding, but one of SaferNet’s main features allows me to set unlimited controls to manage his time on the internet. I can make this work throughout my whole Wi-Fi network or by individual profile/device. When it’s time to get off the computer and go to bed, he can’t just get on his phone and surf the internet anymore.
Another fantastic feature is that I can adjust content filters completely dependent on what is appropriate for his age, and it’s constantly being updated. An extra safety bonus is that even if I have the age filter level set to “Adult” on any device, SaferNet can block adult websites, access to the “dark-web”, and all illegal trafficking sites.
SaferNet actually protects my family and ultimately makes me feel like a better parent. Now my child is more respectful of my decisions and has a better understanding of why it’s so important to keep him safe.