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Teaching Your Kids About Online Safety Is Not As Hard As You Think, Says Mom Of Two

Teaching Your Kids About Online Safety Is Not As Hard As You Think, Says Mom Of Two

If needed, she would only check their devices in the presence of the girls, adding that transparency between child and parent is important to build a sense of trust.

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If you are like most parents, you worry about what technology is doing to your kids. 

Are they on their phones too much? Are they sharing too much on social media? Do they know how to have a face-to-face conversation? Are they facing cyberbullies?

The questions are endless, especially with how wide the internet can get.

During Google Malaysia’s media roundtable on the topic of Online Safety for Kids and Families yesterday (March 30), mother of two and Google’s South East Asia (SEA) Performance Solutions lead Jenny Lim shared that cyberbullying was her biggest concern.

Lim shared that she would set a screen time limit for her two daughters especially on weekdays, and set a good example by modeling appropriate behavior.

When it comes to checking her girls’ devices, she said she would usually let them know that she has access to the gadgets but would not check them. 

If needed, she would only check their devices in the presence of the girls, adding that transparency between child and parent is important to build a sense of trust.

All kids are different. As parents, you should know their maturity level and there’s no right or wrong on when to give them a device. The pandemic has also increased dependency on digital devices, and who they hang out with. There might be some parents who are not internet savvy and just let their kids be exposed to technology. However, it’s important for them to be informed and one way to do so is for them to connect with other parents or find groups with similar interests to get different views.

Google’s South East Asia (SEA) Performance Solutions lead Jenny Lim

Lim added that while all parents want the internet to be a place where their children can grow, learn, play, and explore their interests, it should not have to come at the expense of their safety and wellbeing. 

What’s important is setting digital ground rules and having these conversations with your children.

Google’s South East Asia (SEA) Performance Solutions lead Jenny Lim

Lim also noted that parents should always involve their children in the process, talk about what content interests them, and use it as an opportunity to have more quality time together.

Being a good role model also means examining your own digital consumption habits and what message that may be sending out to your families.

Google’s South East Asia (SEA) Performance Solutions lead Jenny Lim

Lim, who is a mother of two daughters aged 11 and 7, also shared that since most of her children’s friends have phones and devices, it would be unfair of her to deprive them of their connection and that’s why she decided to give them their own devices when they turn 10. 

However, she has also started exposing her kids more to devices recently for education purposes, communicating with their friends and families, and also for entertainment as a self-reward.

If it was pre-pandemic, I wouldn’t be so receptive towards online learning or even handing the devices to my girls at a younger age, but the pandemic has changed that simply because they seem so natural in handling the devices. Personally it helps my understanding as well to see how easy they adapt to learning online.

Google’s South East Asia (SEA) Performance Solutions lead Jenny Lim

For example, Sophie, Lim’s older daughter, hardly read any books, especially physical books. 

However, the moment she was handed her mother’s Kindle, she started to read from it, and somehow it helped to develop her reading habit. 

That kind of sparked the realization that kids today are different and parents cannot expect their kids today to grow up like we did.

Google’s South East Asia (SEA) Performance Solutions lead Jenny Lim

In a short video shared during the roundtable, Lim’s eldest daughter shared how she keeps herself safe online.

I think online safety is just like road safety. You have to be careful and you shouldn’t get out of your car just to talk to strangers, like you shouldn’t online.

Lim’s eldest daughter Sophie

Sophie also shared that prior to getting her first device, her parents would allow her access to her father’s iPad and her mother’s computer.

It was only last year around Christmas when I got my very own phone.

Lim’s eldest daughter Sophie

Her younger sister Emilie also shared that she was allowed to use an iPad when she turned six but will only be getting a phone of her own when she turns 10, similar to her older sister.


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