Life is full of expectations. We all have plans and ambitions that make us accomplish them while gaining skills and using them to get to the point.
Living in the past is not going to make us good professionals. Our generation needs to change and develop the skills required for today’s tech-filled life.
The digital world obligates us to effectively and productively manage time, knowledge, and resources.
Adults Need Technology, What About Kids?
As I said, we need to be on track with tech usage to improve our living. But why do we buy our kids’ tech devices?
For example, we provide our kids with a smartphone to communicate with us more easily, but they usually forget to call us because they are busy playing their favorite online games.
Everyone is Playing Games
We, parents, face the reality that every kid of any age uses tech devices for online gaming.
The increased statistic (91% of 2-17 year-olds play games) about online gaming leads us to be concerned and think about the possible dangers.
Importance of Providing Children’s Safety
The need to play online games is a modern activity that demands our kids to take part in it if they want to be accepted by friends and groups.
However, we can’t fight the new waves. Parents can only organize the family ethics and move on. So, we must provide for and maintain our kids’ safety because the cyber world is harsh and demanding.
Risks That are Associated With Online Gaming
Although online gaming is a good way for your children to relax for a few hours while communicating with friends, it also comes with several risks.
We’ll quickly go over the dangers that your children must avoid when playing online games
Addiction
We must point to addiction as a possible disorder caused by the excessive playing of online games. Children can be affected in a short time.
Introducing children to the harsh treatment methods for addiction can always be a wake-up call for them to limit their time for playing games.
Cyberbullying
Bullying and cyberbullying are things that no parent wishes to happen to their kid. Cyberbullies in an online game can be players from the enemy team or even teammates.
Letting our kids know that while they are playing an online game, there can be someone who can start teasing or harassing them is a must.
Online Predators
These kinds of abnormal populations attack our kids in their maniacal and inadequate ways.
The consequences that your children may suffer if exposed to predators are enormous. Therefore they mustn’t communicate with strangers on online games, no matter how popular the video game is.
Inappropriate content
We must advise our kids that they can face inappropriate, unethical, offensive, or discriminal content that alerts them to shut down the game they are playing and even delete it.
In these situations talk with your child about the inappropriate content that was shared with them, and reach out to professionals if help is needed.
Preventing Possible Online Dangers
As we can’t stop our kids from playing games online because we provide them with all the tech devices, and gaming computers, the only thing left is to set up rules.
And besides all of our efforts, it can still happen for our kids to be victims of negative behavior online. Who is the one to blame? Of course, parents.
Parent Needs to Guide Their Children Through Online Gaming
By setting ground rules, parents guide their children when playing online games. We can also play with them and assure ourselves they respect rules and time.
Get information from your children about the game they want to play, analyze the game, manage the time they want to spend on it, focus on the theme of the game, make sure they respect our demands, and lastly, let them play.
Believe in our Kids’ Actions, not Words
Kids nowadays are intelligent and capable to do whatever they want, whenever they want.
That is why parents should monitor their kids’ online gaming behavior to be sure that their kids play according to the arranged rules. No promises accepted, only facts.
Informing our Kids About Online Safety
Education is a priority and the main goal that parents can help their children achieve (apart from the whole growing up thing).
With the help of school education and parental tips, kids can escape dangerous net behaviors and stay safe. They need to learn and accept parental advice not to be stubborn and reject the rules.
There is always a Plan B to Save Gen Z
When we face a situation where our agreed rules are not respected by our kids (Plan A), we use Plan B to achieve online safety.
We can use software tools for parental control, and manage and monitor our kids’ online gaming activities. Blocking bullies and inappropriate users is also an option that comes with parental control!
Educating Children about not Sharing Personal Information
Education is a key to success and well-being in life. We don’t want our children to end up like the Little Red Riding Hood, right? Parents mustn’t let their children expose personal private information offline and online.
As mentioned before online tools can protect our kids from online dangers, block our kids’ access to unpleasant and sketchy sites, provide online safety, and keep personal information private.
Parents can Play Games With Their Children
As parents, the best way to keep our kids safe while they play online games is to play together.
We can choose educational, motivational, and learning games, and we can enjoy that we spend quality time together offline and online.
Every family member can make a list of games they want to try out, and you can play them together as a family.
But don’t forget to teach your children about managing time and setting limits on tech use along the way.
Conclusion
Ensuring you’re child has a safe online presence isn’t that easy. Dangers exist, and we as parents must be aware of their effects on our kids’ health.
We can’t just buy gaming computers for our kids, wasting money and “destroying” future generations without educating them on how to play online games safely.
We can always be sure that our kids are safe by playing together, enjoying free time, having fun, and avoiding unpleasant situations. Shortly, protect children from the dangers of online gaming by forming strong family bonds.
Our children’s safety (digitally and in real life) is a priority.
ALSO READ: What are the Causes of Gaming Addiction in Children
