Safe Ways to Engage Kids in Technology: Games, Stories, and Supervised Access

Today's technological advancements have a ton of benefits to offer kids. Everything from education to games and more has been made more sophisticated, more interactive, and more engaging for young users.

There are risks involved, though, and parents need to be aware of them. It's no secret that there are also malicious forces working their way through the Internet. How can we allow our kids to benefit from the good things that are out there without becoming victim to malware and its kin?

Once you’ve started the process of teaching your kids what to look for, you can get to the fun part: checking out interesting games and stories like those on Talefy. This is where your kids will really fall in love with the online world.

Talk to your kids

The first thing you should remember is that open communication is key. The old school method of simply trying to keep your kids isolated and punishing them for breaking the rules simply won't do anymore. It's too easy for kids to sneak around and get what they want, anyway (and let's face it: when it comes to technology, most five-year-olds already have us beaten, hands down).

So you should sit down and talk to your kids openly about what they look at online, what is appropriate and what isn't. Do it on a regular basis. And let your kids have a voice; if you simply talk at them and don't allow them to ask questions, you'll never know if the message is really getting through. Learning how to navigate the online world responsibility should be a learning process in and of itself.

Make rules and follow them

There is, of course, another side to open communication. Just because you let your kids ask questions doesn't mean you should let them do anything they want. Screen time should be limited and have specific constructs associated with it:

● Try to establish a particular amount of time per day that your kids can spend online. Make it all-inclusive: educational or not, the kids should know when to put the tablet down. (Educational sites can be great, but it is all too easy to cheat once you get your hands on a device.)

● Designate a particular place for screen time. Once kids start to think they can just pick up a device anywhere they please, they can easily start to think that “anything goes” with regard to device usage. If they learn to associate screen time with a particular space, it will further solidify their sense of boundaries.

● Encourage offline activities. One of the biggest risks that today's kids face is becoming so addicted to the online world that real-world activities simply lose their appeal. This is why even educational activities should be balanced between those that are online and those that are offline.

Teach your kids online safety

One of the best things you can do for your kids is teach them what to look out for themselves. As much as you surely want to be involved in their activities, the fact is you can't do it all the time. And you shouldn't. Kids should develop their own sense of responsibility that they will take with them into adulthood.

Sit down with your kids and show them what they should look out for:

● Any funny-looking links that promise things too good to be true

● Ads that pop up suddenly and ask people to click on them

● Pages with weird spelling, things that look out of place or include odd graphics

While it is true that cyberbullies are getting smarter at creating realistic-looking spam, kids are actually a lot smarter than we tend to give them credit for. Statistics show that it is actually older people that get scammed online most often. So if you set your kids on the right path when they are young, they will likely be sharp enough to spot the bad stuff before it becomes problematic.

Show your kids the right sites

It's not all about discipline, of course. There are some great sites out there that can engage kids in storytelling and educational games. You just need to point out which ones these are:

● As mentioned above, there are some great storytelling sites out there. Some have amazing graphics that kids love, others follow gripping storylines. Some are even interactive, inviting kids to participate as they read along. For a creative twist, try platforms that let your child become the hero of the narrative, such as Make a Book children stories, where you can personalize names, interests, and themes together, blending supervised screen time with meaningful offline reading.

● There are also some really good games online. Some are educational in nature and others less so. Even games that are not strictly labeled “educational” can help your kids’ development as they teach users about strategy, timing, and navigation. Just be sure that your kids don't get too sucked into these games and end up forgetting the real world as a result.

Make it a fun and joint endeavor

Like everything else that your little ones will go through as they grow up, the journey to responsible online behavior will be an extended - and not always clear - one. You can make it as worthwhile for your kids as possible by taking an active part in their learning process. Be communicative, and set boundaries where you need to. But try not to be so strict that you end up scaring them into sneaking around behind your back. The Internet has a lot to offer; it just needs the right approach.