If You must Give Them Gadgets Early, This Advice Will Be Helpful For Those Who Can…
I find the approach below to be a sensible parenting advise and format in respect of monitoring the online activities of minors and children under our care:
“I have 3 kids, the oldest being 9. Each of them has an iPad. It’s good to expose your kids to technology at a young age.
Chukwunonso also has a laptop for his coding lesson. At 9, Nonso is coding better than I ever did at 23. At 9 he designed, programmed, and published an app in the Google play store.
But what did I do and continue to do to monitor and protect my kid’s online presence?
- I made sure each of their devices is connected to a single apple account created by me and designated as a children’s account.
- I made sure a mandatory password is required before a new app is installed. This is to make sure a new app can’t be installed on their device without my knowledge and permission. They don’t know the complex password.
- I made sure their IPAD have no sim cards and this means their only access to the internet is via wifi.
- From my internet router, I assigned a dedicated IP to each of their devices, and with a dedicated IP, I was able to use a firewall to permit only 8 websites that can be accessed. Every other website is blocked off.
- I synced their devices to my device and with a virtual monitor app, I can practically see in real-time the screen view of my kid’s Ipad. There’s no hiding place.
- None of them have access to social media and they can’t install the app on their device.
As a father, I will not deny technological knowledge and exposure to my children but I’ve also taken measures to protect them online.
It’s a dangerous mistake to have your children online unmonitored. It’s also a dangerous mistake not to expose them to technology.
The key is: Find balance, supervise and monitor.”
Written by Ibeabuchi Odenigbo