For many parents, Facebook is not just some social networking website that happens to be extremely popular among teens. For them, it’s a bogeyman, a platform where everything bad that can happen does happen. This may seem like a case of overblown paranoia, but unfortunately, the fears are not without merit. Who hasn’t heard of teens uploading compromising pictures of themselves, engaging in irresponsible behavior, involved in cyberbullying, or being pursued by sexual predators disguised as kids, etc? The threats are far too many and far too grave to ignore. Charged with keeping kids safe online, it’s imperative for parents to supervise them rather than “shutting the gate after the horse has bolted”.

Add Them on Facebook

For teens, accepting a parent’s friend request is akin to losing privacy for good. Therefore, they may not be even willing to talk about it, let alone consider it. However, becoming part of social websites for teenagers is crucial for parents to watch over them in the digital world. They should try to convince the teen to accept their friend request by sharing their true motives with them. If the child still doesn’t listen, then parents may need to blackmail them into doing it by threatening to take away their Internet privileges.

Remain Vigilant

In order to ensure that the teen is behaving responsibly online, parents should frequently take a look at their posts, messages, pages and friends list. It’s extremely important to remember and stick to the actual motive i.e., keeping kids safe, and refrain from snooping in on their personal lives. If the antennas go up after discovering something that’s amiss, like an objectionable post or a new friend, parents should talk to the child about it. They need to be careful while bringing the issue up so as to keep the discussion from looking like an interrogation or confrontation.

Laying down Rules

Setting rules for the information that the teens may share on Facebook can help parents reduce their vulnerability to threats. So can specifying the number of hours they’re allowed to spend on the social media site. It’s strongly recommended to involve them in the rule making process so that they may accept them more easily. Ensure that they follow the rules strictly by warning them of the consequences such as loss of Internet privileges.

Parental Control Software

Using a digital solution for keeping an eye on a teen’s Facebook activity is an extremely convenient option for parents. However, it’s important that this option is used carefully. The kid being monitored needs to be told in advance about the monitoring so that they don’t feel violated. Assuring them that their privacy will be respected and then staying true to the word is imperative for maintaining trust in the relationship. Parents should refrain from going through every single conversation of their kid. Instead, they should focus detection of dangers, such as a new and unrecognizable friend, who may very well be a predator in disguise.

Supervising teens on Facebook is a tricky business alright. Parents may have the best interests of their offspring in mind, but the latter would rather retain their privacy than accept the protection of parents. This is just something that parents will need to work their way around while trying to keep their kids safe online.

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