This school year is sure to be unlike any other. We are facing a global pandemic causing many schools to shut down and send students online. Parents shaming others for their decisions to send or not to send kids to the classroom. Political upheaval in an election year, and racial outrage all over the country are causing stress levels to increase too. There has never been a time when protecting our kids’ minds and hearts has been so critical for their education. This Back to School Tech Safety Checklist can help you enjoy the 2020 school year with your kids instead of losing your mind.

Accountability Software

I hardly ever write an article about protecting your children on the internet without mentioning accountability software. This software will securely monitor the sites being visited on a computer or mobile device and report anything inappropriate. Most of the time this software allows you to customize the sensitivity of the system so that you aren’t being alerted for things that aren’t actual threats. Our favorite software, Accountable2You, allows you to adjust settings on multiple devices and will send you an email or text when something you don’t approve of has been visited. If the site wasn’t what the algorithm thought it was, simply login to the Accountable2You site and adjust the settings for that site so you won’t be alerted for it anymore.

Your child will likely be doing more and more work for school on their computer. (As if they weren’t already doing a ton of schoolwork online.) This means that they’ll be searching the web and using web based cirriculum. Accountability software allows you to give them the freedom to use their Chromebook or PC knowing you’ll be alerted if they happen upon something not intended for kids or education. You can even set up certain sites on “blacklists” that will alert you. This means their favorite gaming site or YouTube can be put on the list so you’re notified if they’re wasting more time than they should be.

Home Network Filter

Monitoring what your kids see online is a good start. It is definitly step one, in my opinion. Step two, or maybe step 1.5, is a content filter for your home network. A lot of newer internet routers and modems come with content filters that can easily be set up from an app on your phone. These filters will block most adult content from showing up on your child’s device. We’ve all had that experience where a seemingly innocent Google search resulted in an assault on our eyeballs with some crazy adult site that seems to have been intentionally named to show up if you had a typo in the search bar. Filters can keep those nafarious sites from showing up. Even if they are sought out intentionally.

Remember that a home network filter will protect your child on your home wifi connection. When they disconnect from it and use cellualar data, the protection will be gone. There are filter options for that, though. Circle is one of my favorite options. Bark is also a good resource since they have added time limits and content filters recently.

Screen Time Limits

Speaking of time limits, that is also something you need to consider while your kids are spending so much time using technology for school. The good news is that not all screen time is created equal. Experts are saying that creative or educational screen time for our elementary aged and older kids can be beneficial compared to time spent playing games or consuming video content. This means you can probably still give your son a bit of time on Minecraft or Fortnite after they’ve already been doing school work on the computer for four hours.

Gaming can relieve stress, playing games online with friends can provide some social interaction that they aren’t getting if they’re not going to school every day. These things are benefits of recreational screen time. Also, creativity can be stimulated by use of their screens. Minecraft is a great example, if your child is building a world in the game they’re doing a lot of important critical thinking and creative reasoning which is good for them. I encourage you to be aware of how much time your kids are spending on a screen and use features like Screen Time or Family Link to limit social media, entertainment, and gaming but don’t freak out about the extra time spent learning online.

Plenty of “Green Time”

Green Time is simply defined as time spent outside. Our kids need to run around, play, and enjoy the outdoors. Your younger kids can enjoy time on a playground or just running around playing kid games at the park while your older kids enjoy a sport, hike, or some other recreational activity. There has been research to show that green time improves attention span, relieves stress, and we have known for years that it helps kids’ physical health as well. Build in “Green Time” breaks for your kids during their online school day. If the school schedules their day for them, make sure you allow for time outside when the school schedule has ended. You’ll see them have better health, get better grades, and even have a better attitude. If you’re spending all day at home with them this year, you’ll be super grateful for that last benefit.

Communication

I emphasise the importance of communication in nearly every post I write, podcast episode I record, and in person presentation that I do. You have to talk to your children about their digital wellbeing. Kids are smarter about these things than you think. You may be surprised at how much they want to do the right thing. Encourage them to come to you when they see something inaproppriate, tell them you’re on their team and want them to have the best school year possible despite the crazy circumstances. Help them know you are a safe place to come about their digital lives and they’ll be grateful to know you are there to support them.

Adapt and Enjoy!

If I have learned anything during this crazy year its that you have to adapt and be abe to enjoy life right where you are. Hopefully these tips can help you enjoy this extra time with your kids. After all, when you count how long you have with them by school years rather than days, you may be happy that you got this time with them during this crazy phase of life.