Your child might spend a lot of hours not only browsing the Internet, but also playing online games. Giving your child safety tips for playing online games is just as important as giving safety tips for browsing. Your child will be subjected to many dangers while involved in playing online games.
Avoiding Online Predators while Playing Games
Before your child begins playing online games, give them a set of rules. You can make up a family contract for your child to sign stating that they understand the rules and will abide by them. Place this contract close to the computer as a reminder.
Allow your child to only play games at reputable websites. Learn all you can about game ratings and privacy statements. Check out all the games your child plays, and if possible play the game all the way through. Place your child’s computer in an area where you can monitor if you need to.
If your child hears a player using inappropriate language on a game, your child can either mute the language or report negative feedback on the player. If your child is becoming annoyed with a player, they can block the player and will not have to hear from them again.
Warn your child about voice masking, which is the disguising of your real voice. This is very dangerous because adults can disguise their voices to sound like a child. Voice masking can also be an advantage. Your child can disguise their voice and no one will know what age or gender they are.
If your child has to use a name in order to play the game, make sure a suitable name is used that doesn’t include any personal information.
Your child will need to know how to deal with bullies while playing online games. Also, if your child comes across anything uncomfortable while playing, tell them to stop playing and to tell you so you can report the issue. Remind your child that the friends they make online are all strangers and might not be who they say they are.
But again, the best way you can protect your child from the dangers of playing online is to interact with them and see first hand what they are doing.
Avoiding Viruses while Downloading Games
A virus is a file or software program that can cause serious damage to your computer by losing your data or damaging all your programs. The virus can be disguised in a game your child is downloading. Downloading a game with a virus is very dangerous because it can easily wipe out your entire computer drive.
To keep your computer protected from receiving these viruses, there is anti-virus software available. This software will detect and remove viruses and protect your computer from new viruses by automatic updates.
This virus protection software should be updated often, but there is no guarantee of it screening out new viruses.
Remind your child when playing online games to be cautious and remember the safety tips. Also, only download games from a website that you have checked out thoroughly and know you can trust.