A new school year means new friends, new technology and a greater level of independence. I’ve seen this in my own home recently. My daughter is getting to the age where music is important. And specifically music that is loud enough to create her own little bubble of privacy.
The problem is her auditory bubble isn’t always the safest place. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about 13 percent of school-aged kids end up with noise-induced hearing loss.
So I went on a search for the best decibel-limiting headphones. She gets her bubble, and I get my peace of mind.
Here are some other tech areas you can leverage to help protect your kids:
• Make an open password (and phone code) policy. Every app and account should be accessible to you at all times.
• Speaking of open policies, tell them you are doing these things. Make sure your kids know your intent isn’t to meddle or snoop, but to keep them safe from scammers, bullies and content that could harm them.
• Make digital safety a constant conversation. When you teach them to drive, you don’t sit as a silent passenger, you coach and point out dangers. Think of online safety the same way and mention things you read or hear about threats and safety tips. There are even games that teach these concepts, including onguardonline.gov.
• Set up parental controls. YouTube is an important place to start. You can set up content controls to minimize exposure to mature content. Most tablets and portable devices also come with basic content and use controls.
• Use parent apps to monitor texting and surfing. There are programs that will give you copies of your child’s texts and tell you what sites they’re using online.
Patrick Holland is the president and CEO of Varay.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.