Nowadays, the Internet is considered one of the greatest marvels ever created. It helps people from all over the world connect and it brings them closer together. What's more, the Internet is a vast source of useful information and content that helps people inform, educate and entertain themselves whenever they feel like it.

However, as beneficial as the Internet can be, it's also a dangerous place, especially for the children who are unaware of the threats that lurk online. With that in mind, the Internet can easily be viewed as a double-edged sword. Today, kids have easy access to the online world. It's also very easy for them to get exposed to the content that's in no way appropriate for their age.

That's why it's up to the parents to do their best and protect their children from such exposure. The first step is imposing parental control on every device that allows a child to have access to the Internet. So, here are a few proper approaches to Internet parental control.

Child safety laws

First and foremost, parents need to familiarize themselves with child safety laws regarding Internet browsing. The primary law that enforces child safety online is regulated by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). This law was passed by the Congress in the U.S. back in 1998 and has been updated back in 2012. The main purpose of this law is to give parents more information, as well as more control over websites that collect personal information about children under the age of 13.

For example, COPPA provides information about websites designed for children under the age of 13 that collect information about them, general audience websites that collect personal information and third-party services that also collect information on websites focused for children under the age of 13.

In addition, websites that are covered by the COPPA law must do as follows:

• Post information about their privacy policies

• Inform parents about their information gathering practices

• Obtain parent's consent before obtaining a child's personal information

However, this law has its flaws and it's increasingly difficult to enforce it, which leaves parents to protect their children's safety online. One of the major flaws of this law is that it doesn't protect children between the ages of 14 to 17, who are still considered minors.

Set parental control on devices

Today, many kids either have a smartphone of their own or they oftentimes use their parent's phone to entertain themselves. Therefore, setting parental control on mobile devices that kids have access to is of the utmost importance. If not, kids can easily have access to explicit content on the Internet, such as profanity or violence and profligacy.

As an example, if your kid has an Apple device, you can opt for features, such as iPhone restrictions that will prevent your child from accessing websites with inappropriate content. There are also various parental control features for Android and Google devices. That way, you can not only limit access to content or websites but also limit how much time your kid spends on a specific device.

Parental control on browsers

Today, you need a browser to access the Internet from a computer. If your kid is using the computer, it's likely that they'll want to explore the web, especially if you're not looking or if you're not around. That's why setting parental control on Internet browsers is also a must.

Commonly used browsers, such as Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer or Google Chrome each have their unique settings for parental control. You can also choose to install a kid-friendly browser, such as Safe Search Kids or some other kid-friendly browser. These browsers come with already built-in parental control features and time limit for kids. That way, you won't have to bother too much with setting up proper restrictions.

Parental control on social media

Nowadays, it's not uncommon for kids to have access to social media platforms or even have their own profiles on various networks. Basically, it's a standard these days and kids without social media profiles are oftentimes shunned by other kids. This puts parents in a very difficult position because it's safer to restrict access to social media altogether, but then again, you'd want to avoid your kid getting bullied for it at school.

Fortunately, each social media network, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others, has privacy settings you can adjust to impose proper parental control for your kids. These privacy policy settings include features such as who can see your posts, your friends, who can contact you, can you see sensitive content and so on. Unfortunately, there's little to no way to prevent cyberbullying on social media, which is why parents must always monitor their child's activity on social networks.  

Internet, although a great place, isn't really a safe place even for adults, let alone for children. Laws protecting children's safety online aren't sufficient to provide proper protection. That's why it's up to the parents to ensure their children's safety in the online world.