There are many steps to take in order to start protecting your family online. Below is the checklist from our book What’s in Your Pocket?
- Learn what devices your family has.
- Learn about the operating systems (OS) of your devices.
- (If Necessary) Find someone who can help you with the technical needs you aren’t confident with.
- Set built-in filter and age appropriate controls on your family devices.
- Find and sign up for an affordable accountability software. (Remember that you can get a month free at Accountable2You.com with the promo code BecauseFamily.)
- Decide your plan for talking to your kids about their device usage. (Frequency, talking points, curfews etc.)
- Learn what social media sites your children are using.
- Sign up for an account (if you don’t have one) on each of those social media sites.
- Follow/friend your child on social media.
- Use highlight or favorite features on those sites to prioritize your child’s posts in your timeline/feed.
- Set your regular “discussion time” schedule with your family to talk about their online accounts and devices.
- Stick to your plan and make it a habit of talking to your kids about their technology.
Use this checklist to help you start to make a strategy for protecting your children while they’re on their smartphone, tablet, or computer. It can seem like a mountain to climb, but it isn’t as difficult if you break it down into chunks like the list above. Go for it. You’ll be glad you did.