3 Smart Tools to Help Keep Kids Safe

Smart Tools to Help Keep Kids Safe

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With all the dangers of the world to contend with—both the virtual and the real world—it could feel daunting trying to keep your children safe.

Fortunately, there are a multitude of technological tools out there that can assist parents in their safety efforts. Here are a few:

1. Online Games

There’s just something about cartoons and video games that capture children’s imagination—and their attention. It is for that reason that all kinds of child safety organizations now use animation and traditional video game technology to get their particular message of safety across to youngsters.

Rather than a dry, boring lecture, you can use online games and videos to illustrate any safety matters for you in an engaging way. You children are likely to have so much fun, they won’t even realize that they’re learning some pretty important stuff. All kinds of safety topics are covered in this way; traffic safety, cyber security, what to do in case of a fire or other emergency, and much more.

2. Parental Controls

As children become older, their demands for access to technology will inevitably grow. The trick is to allow them a certain level of independence when they’re using electronics and being online, while also still keeping them protected from the bullies, predators, and other various dangers of the Internet. Parental controls are the ideal way to walk this line. 

On cell phones, home computers, and other web-enabled devices, you can go into the settings to set limits on how long your child can be online, what kinds of content they are allowed to see, and stop any unauthorized purchases. If the standard controls aren’t to your liking, there are a number of third-party parental control apps that you can purchase to give you the precise level of control you need.

3. Public Records Searches

Apart from what you can do to teach or manage your kids to keep them safe, there are also tools available to help you check on the safety of others around your children. An online public records search can give you access to vital information about adults with whom your child might spend time: other friends’ parents, new neighbors, and so on. 

Simply input the person’s full name to find them (and their city and state, if you want to narrow down your results right away). Once you’re sure you have the right person, you have the option of looking more into their public records. This can give you information about the person’s criminal history, if they are a registered sex offender, and other data that you can use to make the decision about whether or not your child is safe in their presence.

Making the decision to use these kinds of tools is a great option to help you protect your children, even when you can’t always be there with them to do so. And best of all, these tools can help your children to learn how to be smart about safety and start to take care of themselves.

Photo by LightField Studios