Parenting in Digital Age

Parenting in Digital Age Quick tips Reinforce your beliefs on a daily basis - by having conversations with your children and young people about their online activities, ensure that values such as honesty, respect and responsibility are deeply ingrained in their digital environments as they are offline. Critical thinking for all devices and platforms. Think before you post, share or use a device. Read all of the instructional manuals, parents' guides and even the safety center resources that you may find. It may take a bit of time, but it is absolutely vital. Talk to your child about who they are talking to online, what they are doing online, where they are going online (websites), when they are going online (time or location), how they are going online (wifi, unsecured access) Keep an open dialogue even when the subject may be uncomfortable for you as a parent or caregiver. If you want your children to trust you and maintain that trust, you must be willing to listen. Understand how to use privacy settings and explain to your child how to put them in place. Protecting your data and privacy are the key challenges today. Over-sharing personal information Make sure that neither you, nor your child is over-sharing personal information, identifying characteristics, inappropriate photos, etc Place limits on Internet use and screen time Remember that context may be more important than duration so monitor accordingly. Strive to achieve balance and boundaries at all times. The internet is forever Remind your child or young person that anything that they write, post, share can exist indefinitely on the Internet. And even something innocent can be modified, altered and then re-posted. Ignore, block or report Every Internet user should know how to ignore, block or report other users. Using the appropriate reporting tools at the right time is crucial in identifying and removing inappropriate content. Be a digital role model Be a digital role model and encourage your children and young people to engage online in a manner that best reflects Qatari values.