Category: Online Safety for Kids

How To Help Your Child Safely Use Pinterest

How To Help Your Child Safely Use Pinterest

Social media sites are a blessing and a curse. They allow people of all ages to connect with one another, but they can also leave children vulnerable to unsafe information. Pinterest is a social media site that is trying to make itself safe for children. If your child wants to use this site to find inspiration, they can.

However, the site hasn’t perfected its safety features yet. As a caregiver, you should know how to help your child safely use Pinterest.

Use Pinterest’s Safety Features

As mentioned, Pinterest tries to make itself safe for children. The minimum age requirement to use Pinterest in the US is 13, although, in some countries, it’s based on the age of consent. Any accounts for someone between the age of 13 and 16 are automatically private. This means no one can see your child’s pins or boards, although anyone can see comments your child leaves on a pin. Accounts become public when the user is 16, but no one can message an account for someone under the age of 18.

Set Up Browser Parental Controls

While Pinterest’s safety features can help protect your child’s privacy, they don’t protect your child from what they could see on the app. Like all social media accounts, Pinterest contains mature content about subjects like physical intimacy and eating habits. The site does not allow people to tag this content with inappropriate words or phrases, but that doesn’t prevent people from uploading this type of content.

Even if the content doesn’t look mature on Pinterest, many pins can lead your child to other sites. Some of these sites are safe, and others are not. The best way to prevent your child from accidentally seeing mature content or ending up on a mature site is with browser parental controls. You can try some of the best rated apps for parental controls that will filter or block bad websites.

Follow Their Pinterest Account

Following your child’s Pinterest account doesn’t allow you to see everything they see. However, you can monitor what they pin. Beware that Pinterest allows for private boards that only the account holder can see. You may need to periodically check your child’s account from their login if you’re concerned they may try to use this feature.

Prompt Honest Discussions

Teens may feel that you’re trying to control them if you want to look at their Pinterest through their login. This is a good opportunity to start an honest conversation about internet safety and potentially mature content. Your child should know what information is and isn’t appropriate online and feel safe coming to you if they see something wrong.

You don’t want every honest discussion to feel like a giant warning sign though. Prompt honest discussions about other subject matter your child is seeing, such as recipes they may want to try. You can use these recipes to make cooking a fun family bonding activity and encourage a positive relationship with Pinterest.

You can help your child safely use Pinterest through Pinterest’s safety features and third-party monitors. However, no safety features or browser monitors can replace your connection with your child. Talking with them about internet safety before they get on social media and while they use it is the best way to protect them.

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Tips for Teaching Your Kids About Information Privacy

Tips for Teaching Your Kids About Information Privacy

The current generation is growing up alongside the latest technology, which means they have access to the internet earlier than ever. Rather than trying to separate your children from technology, help them learn how to use it responsibly. Here are tips for teaching your kids about information privacy and where to start.

Help Them Understand Personal Versus Private

Information privacy can be difficult to teach to young kids, who tend to share everything that crosses their minds. However, children who access the internet and use smart devices must understand which information they can share and which must stay private.

For example, ensure your children understand that they should never share information such as their home or school address, phone numbers, or full name with strangers online. They should also know to never share this information or documents containing it with strangers they encounter in person.

Use Built-In Privacy Settings

Many up-to-date devices and apps provide privacy settings that help you manage the information your kids can share online. Consider limiting location tracking on your children’s devices so certain social media apps won’t be able to display their locations. As you enable these settings, talk to your kids and walk them through the importance of these settings and why they should be conservative with the information they share.

If you try to enable privacy settings and features without them knowing, it could lead to a lack of trust on both ends. This is why you must maintain open communication about information privacy and the features that they should use to help promote it.

Encourage Kids To Make Their Own Passwords (With Supervision)

Making up passwords for your kids will only get them so far. They will be less likely to remember passwords you generate for them, which can be frustrating for everyone involved. Instead, turn password creation into a collaborative effort. This will help your children understand the importance of creating strong, secure passwords that are harder for hackers to guess. Remind your kids to keep their passwords safe and only share them with trusted friends and family with your permission. These are the first steps to developing good password management habits.

Teach Kids the Importance of Safe Document Handling

Information privacy is also applicable once kids log off their computers, smartphones, or tablets. Remind your kids that they should always be careful when sharing passwords and information through writing. If this information falls into the wrong hands, it could get your whole family locked out of your electronics or various accounts. This is why you should teach them how to use a paper shredder safely. Doing so will also serve as a reminder for your whole household to follow proper data destruction rules and invest in a quality paper shredder machine.

Use these tips for teaching your kids about information privacy to educate your whole family and ensure everyone is on the same page. Open and clear communication is crucial to developing healthy technology habits and ensuring your child’s safety online and offline.

How to Teach Kids to Safely Download and Install Apps

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Tasty Tales: Fun Cooking Shows for Young Foodies

Tasty Tales: Fun Cooking Shows for Young Foodies

Finding an enjoyable and educational hobby for young children that encompasses both entertainment and learning can be difficult. Nevertheless, if your little one displays a fascination with cooking or exploring new recipes, introducing them to cooking shows tailored for kids can offer numerous advantages.

Cooking shows for children serve as a valuable tool for imparting fundamental cooking skills while keeping them captivated and interested. Additionally, they provide an excellent opportunity for parents and children to bond through shared activities.

When parents are looking for non animated shows for kids, cooking shows are often not on their radar. Of course, teaching kids about healthy eating is a key goal, but it’s also important to guide them towards a balance when it comes to baking and the preparation of treats.

7 Fun Cooking Shows for Kids

Here is a complication of the top 7 cooking shows that cater to children’s enjoyment and engagement.  Let’s get to it.

1. Waffles + Mochi

Where to watch: Netflix
PG rating: Age 4+

Have your kids ever asked you about the international cuisine? Well, in the 2021 TV series called Waffles + Mochi, young viewers embark on a culinary adventure spanning the globe.

The lovable puppet characters join forces with former first lady Michelle Obama to delve into diverse culinary traditions from around the world. Along the way, they acquire the knowledge of preparing an array of dishes. This show presents an excellent opportunity for kids to explore and gain insights into different cultures and their cuisines.

2. Cookie Monster’s Foodie Truck

Where to watch: YouTube

PG rating: Age 3+

The popular duo of Cookie Monster and Ginger from Sesame Street come together in this entertaining cooking show. In addition to the beloved characters, the show also incorporates children as part of the cast.

The two puppets operate a food truck, where they receive orders from children via video messages, adding an interactive element to the show. They embark on delightful adventures while fulfilling the food requests in their mobile kitchen. Kids learn new fun recipes like rosemary bread, pancakes, popsicles and more.

3. Kid’s Baking Championship

Where to watch: Amazon Prime
PG rating: Age 7+

Observing fellow youngsters engage in thrilling and enjoyable cooking competitions can be a source of amusement, excitement, and motivation for young children. In Kid’s Baking Championship Duff Goldman and Valerie Bertinelli team up as they search for gifted junior chefs. The ultimate victor of this baking contest stands a chance to win a cash prize of $25,000.

The aspiring young bakers partake in a series of entertaining yet demanding rounds, showcasing their skills and creativity by preparing innovative and fun dishes.

4. Nailed It

Where to watch: Netflix
PG rating: Age 10+

If you are not a professional cook, you must understand the challenge of achieving culinary perfection. A dish that turned out horribly during one attempt can surprisingly turn out flawlessly the next time.

The show Nailed It! explores precisely this phenomenon. Amateur cooks try to replicate expertly crafted desserts, and cakes gaining valuable insights and discovering clever tricks along the way. Kids will enjoy this show as they watch a group of chefs struggle as they make themed cakes, and more.

5. Junior Bake Off

Where to watch: Hoopla
PG rating: Age 5+

A spinoff of The Great British Baking Show, Junior Bake Off is an entertaining cooking show for kids and parents alike. The young chefs exude great cooking skills with jaw-dropping recipes. From pies to themed cakes and cookies, you see young talented chefs getting their hands dirty.

It’s so fun to watch kids creating tasty treats as they deal with mishaps and deadlines.

6. Sugar Rush 

Where to watch: Netflix
PG rating: Age 10+

Don’t go by its name, as Sugar Rush is a popular candy-filled show with four professional bakers who go head-to-head for a prize of $10,000. They must compete in challenges and bake beautiful, colourful cakes.

Some of the most popular cake themes on the show are ‘Cake by the Ocean,’ ‘Junk Foodie,’ and ‘All Things Chocolate’. If your kids are into baking, this is a great show to watch to give me inspiration and new ideas.

7. Dr. Seuss Baking Challenge  

Where to watch: Amazon Prime
PG rating: Age 9+

Dr. Seuss Baking Challenge is a colourful show in which bakers are challenged with making confectionary delights based on Dr. Seuss characters. The show is great for watching with your kids as the set is beautiful which adds to the show.

You can incorporate Dr. Seuss stories with the show to entertain your kids. It’s the one cooking show that will keep your kids hooked thanks to its Christmas theme and positive energy.

Delve Into The World of Tasty Treats

If you have a young and eager chef at home who loves nothing more than to help you out in the kitchen and cover everything in flour, then these shows are a must-watch.

These fun cooking shows will keep your kids entertained without making you cringe. We have shortlisted these shows after careful consideration to make sure they are age-appropriate with no profanities or adults behaving rudely.

Cooking is one of the most essential life skills that parents should teach their children. If your kids love preparing food, these cooking shows will inspire them to try new things in the kitchen. Moreover, study reveals that kids who watch cooking shows are more inclined towards eating healthy and home-cooked meals.

So, bond with your children and create precious memories by trying new recipes at home.

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The Importance of Age-appropriate Online Activities for Children’s Development

Age-appropriate Online Activities For Children's Development

Playing is vital for children, which can be in the form of physical games or even online. What is essential is that children play appropriate games for their age. Currently, many children prefer online games to play with their friends closely, so it is important to do online activities that are appropriate for their age so that they can enjoy the benefits of playing.

We all know that when children play online games, we should pay attention to the safety of the game space. Still, another critical issue is that children’s online activities also affect their development.

It is good to know that online activities suitable for children’s age will make children have fun, their creativity will flourish, their imagination will intensify, and their skills and abilities will grow.

Online games and activities have different age groups, so parents can prepare matches suitable for their child’s age and provide them to their children.

So far, we have found that online activities suitable for children’s age have important effects on children’s growth and creativity.

In this article, we discuss the importance of online activities appropriate to children’s age on their development and examine the most important reasons.

The Benefits of Age-Appropriate Online Activities for Children’s Growth

The Importance Of Age-appropriate Online Activities For Children's Development

In this section, we examine some of the most important reasons for the importance of age-appropriate online activities for children.

●     Health and Well Being

When choosing online activities for your children, ensure they are suitable for their age because online activities significantly impact their health.

If the activities you choose are for a group older than your child’s age, they may contain heartbreaking scenes unsuitable for the child’s age and therefore have a destructive and negative effect on your child’s health.

But providing an online activity suitable for the child’s age will positively affect the child’s healthy development.

●     Increase Children’s Cognitive Skills

Online games and activities can affect their cognitive skills and develop these skills. Therefore, online activities such as online games are not always harmful, and if they are suitable for the age of children, they can help their development.

Research has shown that online activities affect the training and development of children’s cognitive skills, such as problem-solving, reasoning, decision-making, critical thinking, creativity, and memory.

●     Fix Children’s Mood

Parents think that all online activities are harmful to children and cause anger and anxiety, which is undeniable. Still, the most important reason for such an incident is that children do activities online, which is unsuitable for their age.

If you, as a parent, provide your children with age-appropriate online activities, these online games can set the children’s mood, relax, enjoy spending time online, and even decrease their anxiety and anger.

●     Improve Their Social Skills

Online activities can positively affect children’s social skills and help them learn critical social skills from their peers.

When you choose online activities for your children that are suitable for their age, they will be able to connect with children of the same age, and in this way, they can strengthen their social skills in the childhood environment.

This work even strengthens their creativity, and in this way, they can learn new ways to communicate with others.

●     Hand and Eye Coordination

An interesting issue that some parents may not pay attention to is that online activities can create coordination between children’s hands and eyes; when children are busy doing online activities, they mainly use their hands and eyes to follow the objects on the screen during the game, and they have to press buttons with their hands to advance the game.

Such activities strengthen children’s physical and mental skills and increase hand-eye coordination and reaction.

●     Improve Their Language Skills

Online activities strengthen children’s language skills. When children do online activities, their abilities, including language skills, are maintained because they gradually learn how to advance the game’s stages.

In addition, when your children do online activities such as watching educational videos at a young age, they can speak faster and make complete sentences. In this way, their verbal skills are also developed.

As a result, they learn what buttons to press and how to go through the steps. For example, they understand what the “Enter” button, “Skip” button, etc. is and how it is written, and in this way, they learn new words and strengthen their language skills.

●     They Receive More Information

Another reason for the importance of online activities suitable for children’s age is that it gives children access to a source of different information, and it is helpful if parents monitor these sources of information.

Children learn things that are available to them, for example, they learn something from parents and school, but if parents provide them with age-appropriate online activities, they can access different information and learn new skills.

●     Promote Teamwork Skills

Online group activities suitable for your child’s age will strengthen your child’s teamwork skills.

Such online activities make children assume different roles and responsibilities while playing and try to do it in the best way, enabling them to cooperate with others to reach a specific goal. In this way, your children are happy and learn essential skills.

●     Improve Multi-Tasking Abilities

Some online activities in which children have to do several tasks at the same time are beneficial because, in this way, it strengthens children’s different skills and improves their multitasking ability.

Multitasking helps your children a lot; this ability is useful for them in adulthood and allows them to have better jobs than their peers.

●     It Brings More Fun and Happiness

The Importance of More Fun and Happiness in Child Development

You may think that only the games and activities in the playground entertain your children and they are only happy in this way.

This idea is wrong, many online activities are fun for children, and they are happy when they are engaged in such activities and games; most importantly, these activities are designed for different ages, which allows parents to use what is suitable for their child’s age.

●     Behavioral Influence

Doing age-appropriate online activities for children has many benefits; one of them is that by doing these activities, children learn how to behave according to their age.

In fact, these activities teach them age-appropriate behavior patterns and thus affect your child’s behavior, so the activities you choose for your child must be appropriate for their age.

Conclusion

Remember that the digital world and online activities have become almost ubiquitous, and most parents cannot spend much time playing with their children, so online activities help parents a lot in addition to their benefits on children’s development.

But it should be noted that children’s use of technology and online activities and games should be under parental supervision and have limitations.

In this article, we have comprehensively discussed online activities suitable for children’s age and their importance for children’s development.

We have provided you with the most vital reasons for the importance of online activities, such as online games, on children’s development so that you can use age-appropriate online activities for your children’s development.

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