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2. Power in numbers

You must not forget that you are not the only one that is going though this period of social distancing. It is very important that you communicate not just with your childrens teachers, but make it a habit to hold a weekly meeting involving as many parents as possible. One of you is bound to stumble on to something the other parent hasn’t, and can share tips like what has, or has not worked. The more of you that share your experiences, the greater the chances of having a safe and successful online learning environment for both yourself, and for future parents.

3. FaceTime

No I do not mean the FaceTime using Apple’s iPhone, I am talking about good ol’ fashion communication with your kids, face to face. Sitting down with your child, having some one on one time, will usually show where there might be some weak spots in your childrens online lesson plan, or way of studying. Since we are all different and have varying degrees of learning, it is important that we remind ourselves that our children are going through this too, and that means that it is equally important to take the time to listen to what our children have to say. 

5. Role play

Create “What would you do if?”scenarios, like, “What if Bobby was working on his math assignment, all of a sudden Bobby gets a friend request from someone he does not know, but Bobby knows this person is friends with one of his online classmates. What would Bobby do? Positioning ourselves in a “What would you do?” scenario allows us to quickly and easily spot what might be an undesireable outcome, before a real, or similar outcome may happen. Remember to give very limited guidance while doing this role plsy. It may be tempting to want to jump in and guide our children down the right path, but it is important to show them what might be the outcome if they were to get in to this exact situation in real life.

7. Stranger

So you just found out that your child has been talking to some stranger online. Relax, don’t assume the worst. It is important that you tell your child that they will not be in trouble if they come to you, no matter what it is. Now is the time to sit down with your kid, in a calm tone and manner. Ask him or her about this stranger, have they met? Has the stranger ever spoken to you? Do you know there name? It’s always important to keep a cool and clear head when talking to your kids, especially about this stuff. If you do find that your child has been talking to a stranger online, check out this website to learn more about how you should handle the situation.

Online Learning Tips To Stay Safe

1. Observation

Nothing comes close to good old fashion, low tech observation. You should always be around your child, especially when using the internet. In a world where there is so much screen time between all the digital devices we use, if something is going to be noticed, it won’t be by some kind of tech monitoring software or equipment. It will be from picking up on different signals your child is giving off. Nothing is better then a mothers intuition right? Sorry dad’s but there is some truth to that. Read more about A Mother’s Intuition by clicking here. Courtesy of Psychology Today

4. Set rules early

It is important what we as parents set rules early on in our children’s lives. Having a clear and well understood set of rules early  will help set the groundwork for learning right from wrong, good or bad, when your child reaches adulthood. Make sure when you set these rules, that you consistently stick with them otherwise your child will not know when is the appropriate time to apply the rules to each and every situation. Remember that you are always considered to be a role model early on in your child’s life whether they say it or not. So always be mindful that your child is nearby waiting and watching.

6. Learn the lingo

One, out of every four children throughout the country admit to talking to a complete stranger at least once during their childhood. In fact, many kids type in a code, which is really just acronyms. The acronyms are contantly evolving. You need to make sure you are keeping yourself up to date with all of these acronyms by visiting this free, and extremely helpful website which tells you what every one of these acronyms mean: Internet Safety 101. Make sure to check out some of the other topics while you are on there website.

8. Parental controls

Both Windows and Mac have free built in tools that allow you to set certain limitations on what your child does, and what they can access. Parental Controls in Mac OS and Windows 10 If you are not familiar with how to use any of this, make it your personal goal to read up on how you can use these parental controls, to keep a hold on what your child does on the computer. If you would like to read up more on how to use parental controls for Windows 10, then click this link. For those of you that are on an Apple computer, or Apple device like an iPad or iPhone, click here to learn how to use the parental controls on your Mac.

Come back often to find out more tips and trick on how to keep both you and your kids safe online.