One minute you’re baby-proofing your home, covering sharp corners and placing breakable objects out of reach. The next minute, you’re thinking about internet safety, buying tech for your kids and reading about the risks involved. It’s terrifying how quickly the years hurtle past, isn’t it?
My eldest was around seven when she first asked if she could start gaming on our family PC and I was first introduced to the concept of online games and all of the concerns that go with them. Fast forward four years and she has her own phone, an email account and has access to the family PC.
There’s no denying that tech makes many aspects of parenting easier; wifi enabled video monitors, white noise playlists, phone and tablet apps that we can whip out in the doctor’s waiting room. But it’s also a source of worry for many of us, too. ‘Technology is a great resource for children to support their education, entertainment, and development,” says Gillian Binks, the marketing strategy and planning lead for Microsoft. ‘However, the more access they have to technology, the more we need peace of mind that we can monitor what they’re doing to keep them safe.’
It’s never too early to start thinking about teaching your children about using devices safely and helping them develop positive digital habits. Thankfully, it’s not as hard as you might think. ‘With Microsoft Family Safety, you can feel empowered and supported to create positive habits and protect the ones you love,’ says Gillian. ‘Family settings on Windows 11 give parents the tools to help their children build healthy, safe digital habits. We offer more than 15 features and safeguards which provide peace of mind across four key areas: Screen time management, purchase limits, content filters and privacy.’
With M365’s Family Safety settings, families can access smart assistance features, hundreds of premium templates, photos, icons, and fonts in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, you can also set location alerts in Outlook in the Microsoft Family Safety mobile app. Turn on Microsoft Defender to easily manage your digital security and stay ahead of online threats.
Here are our top tips on keeping your family safe online with Windows 11…
Create house rules (that you stick to, too)
Setting clear guidelines around tech use in your home benefits everyone. We have a strict ‘no phones at the dinner table’ rule and a ‘no texting each other from the next room’ rule too but we’re always revisiting these and discussing whether to add new rules. ‘Establishing positive digital habits is so important for not only children but adults too!’ agrees Gillian. ‘We encourage families to set house rules for tech use together with their children, creating an open and ongoing dialogue around online safety.’
Use content filters
‘Children are explorers by nature, and we don’t want to suppress that because it’s crucial for their development, but we do want to create an environment where its safe for them to do this, at the most impressionable time in their life,’ says Gillian. Being able to ensure my kids can only access age-appropriate content is a life-saver. It means I can give them freedom to explore things to watch without hovering over them 24/7.
Set healthy boundaries
Setting time limits for device-use is nothing new but did you know you can now set how much time your kids spend on specific apps and games? This, for me, is huge because I can limit the chat and games apps when my daughter needs to crack on with homework. ‘You can even set limits for game levels,’ says Gillian, ‘enabling you to be more specific with how your children spend their time using technology.’ Genius.
Control who your kids play online games with
Not knowing who our kids are playing online games with can be a big worry. But Windows 11 has this covered. ‘Parents can direct how their children engage and interact with others, specifically on Windows 11 gaming, by managing who can communicate and play with their children as well as restrict the activity and profile information others can view.’
Monitor usage regularly
We have regular debrief session with our eldest, on the online chats she’s been having, to help her navigate things and help us understand how she’s using tech but we often don’t know which apps she is using and for how long. Windows 11 helps by offering device usage reports. ‘These reports help you to understand how your children are using different apps and websites, and better monitor and optimise their digital health,’ says Gillian.
Use location sharing
If your kids are heading out and about on their own, location sharing is a must. My eldest has just started secondary school and it’s reassuring to be able to check she got to the train station OK and caught her train on time. ‘You can share your location with loved ones, spot them on a map, and save places they visit the most, to feel safe and secure that they too are safe and secure,’ says Gillian.
For more information on Windows 11 security and safety features, head to Microsoft Family Safety | Online Safety and Digital Wellbeing.