Five Reasons That Data Protection is Important for Families

Author Bio: Cristin Howard runs Smart Parent Advice, a site that provides parenting advice for moms and dads. Cristin writes about all of the different ups and downs of parenting, provides solutions to common challenges, and reviews products that parents need to purchase for babies and toddlers.

As parents, we strive to protect our children at all costs. Normally we think of things like holding their hand to cross the street, feeding them healthy foods, and helping them buckle up in the car.

Many parents don’t consider data protection as an important facet of parenting life. However, here are five reasons that data protection is important for families, and why you may want to evaluate this priority.

1. It protects your child from themselves.

Do you know what information your child is giving out online? Even if you’re an attentive parent, chances are you don’t know everything. The problem with allowing your child to interact with others online is that they don’t understand the scope of the world wide web.

They share information with friends, family, and strangers, without thinking twice about it. Children need our intense supervision, especially when it comes to their data. That means implementing data protection measures like child locks, password protected devices, screen time limits, and much more will help prevent their data from getting out there in the first place.

2. It protects your child from others.

As a parent, you probably already knew that most kidnappings and abductions happen by people they know. You’re not protecting your child from strangers as much as you’re protecting them from people they think they can trust.

The unfortunate reality is that without extreme data protection measures, the people your child trusts the most are always aware of where your child is, not to mention other identifying information like permanent address, birthday, and more.

3. It gives you peace of mind.

If your child is interacting safely online, you won’t have to worry. There are plenty of safe and educational ways for your child to use the internet without putting them at risk. Activities like ABC Mouse will engage your child who’s too young to understand how to use electronics safely, while ensuring they’re learning, growing, and being smart.

Setting up age appropriate online activities from reputable sources protects your child’s data without a lot of effort on your part. It’s likely common sense that you wouldn't give your young child a social media account, but it’s still worth mentioning that they can still do things online and have fun.

4. It gives you complete control.

Many data protection devices are set up to allow you complete control over what your child does online and for how long. You can turn Wi-Fi on and off, set screen time limits, enable child content locks, and so much more.

This allows you to monitor what your child is doing online, where, and why. You’ll always know if they’ve done something inappropriate, and you may even be able to set up notifications or alerts.

With this kind of data protection, you can add or remove levels of protection to ensure that your child is being smart and safe. And again, you have total peace of mind that they are.

If you want to keep your kids offline entirely, that’s always the safest bet, especially when they’re young. Hands-on reading programs, toy box subscriptions, and other engaging items will keep them entertained without the need for electronics at all.

5. It teaches your child how to take data protection seriously.

Your job as a parent is to prepare your child for adulthood. Part of that is imparting wisdom and ensuring they know how to behave and get along in the world without you. Setting the ultimate example is important now, so they won’t question it later.

Taking data protection seriously and helping them learn how to protect themselves will build the foundation for safety later. They’ll learn good habits and what not to do, rather than making detrimental mistakes later.

See how you can protect your digital privacy and Bring Your Data Home™ with Amber X and don’t forget to visit Smart Parent Advice for more tips and guides to make parenting less stressful.

Until next time! Cristin Howard www.smartparentadvice.com