Thank you to the wonderful people at Verizon FIOS for sponsoring this article. All the views and opinions here are my own.
Anyone who talks to me or knows me in the real world knows that I truly enjoy the internet. Verizon FIOS is one of my favorite tech things. Most of the time I write about how the internet and technology can benefit entrepreneurs. Providing encouragement, inspiration and motivation to women to be their best at work and home is my joy and passion. Today I am writing all about the internet at home. My children and I enjoy the internet. We use it. We use it a lot. One of the reasons we use it so much is because our internet speed is so fast it as if the interwebs say to us, “Your wish is my command.”
My twins latest fascination is talking to the personal assistants in the phone and getting it to tell jokes, sing songs, and answer questions. The faster the internet allows the phone to answer questions, the more enjoyable it is for my children. I am not a parent who believes children should be kept away from the internet and technology. To the contrary, I think children should be taught to use technology and the internet. At the same time, I think children’s internet usage should be monitored, supervised and controlled. That is why I am glad that Verizon’s internet suite of products comes with several types of parental controls.
When you get to the Verizon FIOS home page, go to the section for internet and then navigate to the section for your router. That is where you will find the parental control options. This section is great for being able to turn internet service off only for certain devices that are connected to the internet at your house. The devices at your house are listed by name or IP address. Yesterday, I took the time to go through each connected devices and renamed each device a name I would remember. This means that I can go online and turn off internet access for one twin but not the other. Or I can turn internet access off on the twins phones and tablets, but allow them to use the internet on the computer for homework assignments. This means that when they are supposed to be doing homework, they won’t be texting or video conferencing with their big sister who is away at college. I like this also for times when my teenager is supposed to give me his phone, but claims he cannot find it. No more internet for him! This is an amazingly easy way to turn off the internet at bedtime also. It is one of my favorite, simple tools.
Verizon FIOS also comes with the Verizon Internet Security Suite Multi-Device Package which allows you to protect the devices in your home from harm on the internet. I have not installed this before on my machines. I have no idea why. But, last night I installed it and started to protect all the devices in my home. I started with my computer and will be adding my husband and children to the protection plan over the course of the next few days. I will write another blog article to let you know how it went.
So, don’t be afraid to let your children use the internet. Don’t send them out on the internet streets alone and unsupervised either. Just as you watch your children when they go to the park to play and you don’t let your underage children drink alcohol, don’t let your children loose on the internet without supervision and protection.
I am glad Verizon FIOS has tools in place to help me monitor my children on the internet and keep them safe. Go sign up for Verizon FIOS for your family and get the protection your family needs.
oh i love this. there are so many parents who are really nervous about this. thanks for sharing
With both of my kids on the internet everyday, I need to look into this! I really worry about their cyber safety!
My kids can use the internet on their tablets. I do however have strict parental controls on it to prevent them from seeing bad stuff.
With two young kids this looks perfect to see what they are up to. Being afraid of the internet is a thing of the past!
This is a great way to control access to the internet. I have a teenager and it would be awesome to be able to shut down her access at a certain time, like when she is supposed to be sleeping.
I need this. I love that you can shut off the internet for certain devices but leave it on for others. I wish we had Verizon here.
Great tips on online safety. My two boys are almost ready to be immersed into internet fully and this knowledge can give us peace of mind.
I have two kids that will be using the internet very soon. I will have to take a look at this for my house. I have been looking for a way to keep them safe online.
I would have loved this when my kids were younger. i will have to share this with my friends with kids.
These are great to know about! I don’t have little ones at home anymore but I definitely need to pass this along to my nephew for his kids.
This is really amazing! I love that there are tools like this to help parents monitor their children’s use of internet!
We’re expecting our first very soon and I know I’ll have to think about how technology will advance by the time he can start using the Internet. This post was still helpful for me though!
I’m sure the parents out there will be thankful for the valuable information you have provided. I don’t have any children.
That is a great way to keep kids safe on the internet. You can never be too cautious these days, but kids have to know how to navigate the internet. Everything nowadays is on the internet, so they need to know how to use it.
Great tools to keep our children safe and you can never be cautious enough!
Great tools especially for today’s society and you can never be to cautious.
Great tools to keep your kids safe outside and inside the houe.