Cybersecurity for Kids: Educate Yourself & Your Children

Someone who has said that raising a kid needs a village was certainly correct. There are many things that kids should be educated about. The rise of the internet added one more job to the list and it is – what is cybersecurity.

The risk of unmonitored and unsafe internet usage is more than one’s understanding. See the eye-opening statistics published by GuardChild if you do not believe this:

• 70% of children aged between 7-18 years have encountered pornography while using the internet.
• 40% of children have revealed sensitive information online during internet usage.
• 20% of all internet pornography is based on the internet.

The above data is just a glimpse of giant internet dangers. To battle it, we have enlisted 3 helpful tips in this article.

Education for the Rescue

Education, regarding any topic or concern, brings enlightenment to the learners and helps them to make conscious decisions. In the same way, having this understanding promotes safe and unharmed internet usage. This could be overwhelming for kids, as they aren’t able to see the bigger picture and spot the hidden threats. However, you cannot avoid doing it.

Here is how you can make cybersecurity training easy.

1. Use a VPN

At times, even if you try your best and educate the kids on cybersecurity trends, cyber vulnerabilities can still take place as they are only kids and it’s foolish to expect wisdom like an adult from them. So, the only way to keep your kids 100% safe during internet usage is to use the best VPN.

With the help of a VPN, it’s easy to block the restricted content/website. Some of the best VPNs even also come with parental control features. As destructive elements like viruses, malware, and many more are blocked by VPN, risks are reduced extensively. With the help of this tool, it’s easy to track the entire internet usage by your kids, block harmful content, and improve the overall internet security.

2. Take the help of child-friendly resources

Kids won’t be able to understand what a virus, malware, Trojan, phishing, and data theft are. These terms are for someone mature. To pass on the message, parents must use tools and techniques, which can connect with kids instantly.

We have seen positive outcomes with the use of tools like comic books, cartoon series, and picture books. Kasper, Sky, and the Green Bear is a very interesting book about cybersecurity.

Crucial topics like how to protect the password, manage your privacy, and what to do when someone tries to bully you in digital space are covered well in the book.

Thank you, YouTube! Parents now have access to quality and kid-friendly content. You can find videos on internet dangers, their outcomes, and safety tips. You can also create flashcards on topics like safety tips, what to do, and what not to do.

Cyberbullying is a very common issue these days. Parents must ensure that neither their kids are a victim nor a troublemaker on this front. So, use videos/images/books to educate on this front as well. There are also many cybersecurity programs that one can make their kids join.

Using such content and means, it’s easy to convey the message without making things complicated and confusing.

3. Don’t Monger Fear

You know that compromised cybersecurity can cause too much damage. But, this fear shouldn’t be passed on to the kids. Once they are feared, we won’t be able to utilize the internet for good.

So, your focus should be on empowering them, educating them about cybersecurity trends, conducting cybersecurity classes, and not on fostering fear. To ensure this, creating a checklist is very useful. The checklist must include points like:

• I know what should be shared and what’s not
• I know how to deal with cyberbullies
• I know to take consent from adults around me before accessing any restricted content/website
• I know why I shouldn’t use bad website/content
• I know I am not supposed to make any payment without my parents’ consent

This way, they will be aware of their bad internet browsing habits.

Final Words

It’s impossible to stay away from the internet. So, instead of stopping your kids to use it, as they are a victim of many vulnerabilities, educate your kids about the dangers and teach them to stay safe. Instead of wondering ‘Is cybersecurity hard’, try to conquer over it.

For this, take the help of kids’ friendly resources to ensure that they get the message right. Support the learning with the power of a VPN. This one tool can make the internet safe for kids by filtering content and keeping toxic elements at bay. Hope our cybersecurity for dummies guide helped you.