How to Keep Children Safe When Playing Online Games

The internet can be a scary place for anyone. It can be particularly challenging, as a parent, to allow your children to play games online when you are unsure of the kind of trouble they can run into. 

There are many benefits of children playing online games, from developing new skills, enhancing memory and cognitive abilities, to having fun and making new friends. They are a great way for children to spend time but do require a balance and a little discipline if you want your children to stay safe. 

Here are some of the top tips you can implement to keep your children safe when playing games online. 

#1 Choose games from reliable sources

While the internet provides us with a wealth of information and games, it is not always clear where the games have come from. It is therefore important, for your children’s safety, to conduct research into the game providers and hosts, to ensure they are a secure and trustworthy platform, for example, ABCmouse. Many online games are based on stimulating and educating children, and are more appropriate to play, while others may look okay at first glance, but may turn out to be inappropriate. You can do this by reading online reviews, checking parent forums, checking the ratings, and researching the company that made them. 

#2 Add parental controls 

Most online games will enable you to add parental controls and disable certain features of the game. These can only be set and removed by you. Some of the controls you can change include content you believe is inappropriate, restricting communications, disabling webcams, and setting time limits on the games. 

#3 Speak to your children

There are a variety of steps you can take to protect your children, such as disabling features, but unfortunately, you cannot hide them away from all danger. There is still a risk when playing online games, which is why it can be beneficial to speak to your children about the dangers of chatting to people online. Many games enable you to communicate with others, via text or headsets. Teaching your children to be careful, and monitoring the communications can be extremely helpful.

#4 Get involved 

A great way to keep your children safe online and stay in their good books can be to get involved and play games with them. Not only is this a great opportunity for you to bond and learn about their interests, but also keep a closer eye on the games they are playing, and their behaviors while playing games. You can also play the game before they do, so you have a better understanding of how they are spending their time, what they have access to, and help you to make a plan of action in terms of screen time and parental controls. 

Online games are becoming more popular as the use of technology is embedded into academic settings. By following these steps, you can ensure your children stay involved and get to enjoy playing games while keeping them safe.