As parents, we delicately balance protecting our children and understanding their growing desire for independence, especially in today’s digital world. The digital world can be a treasure trove of immense positive influence through connection, encouragement, humor, and empathy. Conversely, danger and deceit lurk, awaiting a vulnerable victim.

No parent today can completely avoid their child being exposed to the digital or cyber world. Many children use tablets, phones, laptops, and other devices daily – whether it is to enrich their education and schoolwork or to ‘brain melt’ on a Roblox with friends to decompress. Parents need to be informed and aware of the potential dangers and how to empower your children who will inevitably come across them.

Some of the key ways to empower your children in their digital world include: building trust, teaching privacy and safety, setting boundaries, being receptive, and providing guidance for when, not if, your child stumbles upon the dark side of the internet.

Building Trust: Taking an interest in what your children are doing online is key to building trust. You may not personally enjoy Roblox ‘obbys’ or fashion games but allowing your child to share allows them to be open with you. Collaborating as a family to establish digital guidelines allows children to engage in and understand rules. Remember, creating a safe space for discussing concerns, asking questions, and seeking guidance is important in building and maintaining trust with your child.

Teach Privacy & Safety: It can be intimidating to speak with your children about things like bullying and sexting, but the conversations still need to happen. Openly discuss the content they consume, the people they interact with, and the sites they frequent; it is essential to instill in them the importance of their online footprint/reputation and the public nature of the internet. If they wouldn’t give certain information or a photo to a stronger person, they shouldn’t post it online. It’s also crucial to discuss what they should do if they feel unsafe, uncomfortable, or threatened. A great way to express this is if something feels wrong or makes you want to hide, then it is probably wrong – tell someone (a trusted adult), report, and block – parents must remember to provide your children with a safe and non-judgmental space for help. As parents, we have a duty to create awareness for them where they know what is right and wrong.

Set Boundaries: Setting screen time limits can help children find a healthy balance in their digital consumption, having a conversation with your child about why boundaries exist can help them adhere to the rules: screens out by 9 PM to avoid disrupting your child’s critical sleep cycles, phones down at dinner time to connect as a family over a meal, or setting time limits on screen time to enable time for other activities like sports, playing outside, or reading. Another boundary to consider is keeping devices in a shared space like the living room, which allows for more consistent parental monitoring.

Be Receptive: Everyone desires to be ‘heard’, including kids; intently connecting with your child and hearing their feedback is essential. Allowing your children to guide the conversation will enable them to be open and honest, knowing you will listen to their ideas. If your child expresses that a rule is ‘unfair’ or ‘unworkable’, and they have a suggestion that would improve it, take it into consideration.

Provide Guidance: The old saying “do as I say, not as I do” undoubtedly makes most kids cringe, children are like sponges, and they absorb everything in their environment. By modeling positive online behaviors, like limiting screen time and maintaining cyber hygiene, will provide your children with the skills and knowledge needed to navigate the internet safely.

Navigating the digital world as a parent can feel overwhelming, terrifying, and stressful but with consistency, care, and awareness – you can safeguard your child and empower them to know how to deal with the dark side of the internet. The digital world has created opportunities, ideas, and collaborations that have changed life as we know it in wonderful ways – it can be a portal into creativity, education, socialization, and entertainment. As parents, we can harness the good of the digital world to expand our children’s hearts and minds, but we must not forget the dangers that lurk and how to manage the threats that exist – not in fear, but in an empowered, powerful state of mind. ❦

About the Author

Olivia Arnauts is a U.S. Army veteran turned entrepreneur. Olivia and her partner, in life and business, Ralph, founded ZFIS, a private intelligence agency which provides various protective intelligence and investigative services.
As an overcomer of childhood sex abuse and online exploitation, Olivia is passionate about safeguarding the community, especially young people, to prevent them from enduring a similar experience.
Utilizing specialized skill sets and unique life experiences, the Arnauts work in tandem to support safety and justice.

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