Parents and Teachers are welcome to use the below PDF lessons as a resource for your classes and children.
Media Safety and Literacy – Part 1
Category: Uncategorized
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A Mesh WiFi is what businesses, shopping centres, airports and other public areas use to share the same WiFi network. It basically is a combination of 2-3 devices that you place all around your home to use the same WiFi name, it doesn’t create new WiFi networks like WiFi extenders do, it shares the same WiFi across your home.
It’s quite easy to set up out of the box, and you connect it to your NBN modem to share that internet connection.
The Mesh WiFi gives you an extra layer of parental control over all devices on your home network. You can set up time limits, block certain websites, set up bedtimes where internet gets blocked on devices, and much more.
This is a good article to read up on the advantages of mesh networks.
Some popular brands you can look into – feel free to shop around and do your research, these are links to some on the market now:
TP-Link Deco M5 Whole-Home Mesh Wi-Fi Router System – 3-Pack AU Version
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Set up “Family Link” (Android version) – an app by Google – you manage their phone through an app on your phone (click here for the iPhone version)
You need to have a Google for yourself, and then on your child’s device, you set up Parental Controls (Settings > Digital Wellbeing and Parental Controls > Parental Controls)
If your child already has an Android phone, goto the same section and you log in to your google account, and then create an account for them.
- Helps you manage your children’s accounts and devices as they explore online. You can manage apps, keep an eye on screen time and help set digital ground rules for your family
- Screen time limits – set limits of how much time they can use their device for, down to each app
- Age-appropriate content – Approve or block apps your child wants to download – it sends you a request before they can install an app
- Set a bed time, where the device “locks” and only apps you approve will work
- You can disable Google search, YouTube
- See their exact location at all times
- Suitable for all age children and youth
- When you set up your child’s google account, you will have more control on the restrictions if you set your child’s date of birth to be younger than 13. At the age of 13, Google will allow them the ability to remove parental controls without your consent!
Refer to these links from Google for more details on how to set it up
Create & Manage your child’s Google Account
Family Link Guidebook – This covers all areas with more details on each section
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Apple have an in-built feature on all their devices called Screen Time. No apps required! It’s easily set up in a matter of minutes, and will give you significant control over the following areas:
- Check the usage: down to each day and time
- Downtime: specify what times of the day the device can be used
- App Limits: set time limits for apps
- Communication limits: set limits based on contacts
- Always allowed: choose apps that are always allowed
- Content & Privacy restrictions: block inappropriate content
How to set it up:
- You need to access their phone in order to set it up.
- You set a Screen Time Pin code, this is like a master key, don’t tell your child this pin
- Screen time limits – set limits of how much time they can use their device for, down to each app
- Set a bed time, where the device “locks” and only apps you approve will work
- You can disable Google search, Youtube, turn off the browser
- You can restrict/allow them from downloading/deleting apps
- You can see what their usage is, in total and down to specific apps
- You can stop them from changing their Pin and locking you out of their device
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Would you allow your child to roam the streets of Sydney freely and without supervision? At any time of the day? For hours on end? Most parents will not allow this, let alone even entertain the thought of something so absurd. One of the key aspects of being a parent is to protect your children at all times, guide them through the obstacles of life, especially in their younger years where kids are completely dependent on their parents for not only food and shelter, but much much more.
One of the key aspects of being a parent is to protect your children at all times
We spend so much time and effort in raising our kids, feeding them healthy food, putting a roof over the heads, giving them a good education, and much more, we try to give them a better life than what we had, and part of this sometimes means buying them the latest gadgets and tech, the latest tablets and iphones. For the most part, our intentions are sincere, so we can keep in touch with them, or we don’t want them to feel like they’re missing out when all their friends have these devices, or simply because we feel in this fast moving age we are in, they need to have a device.
Fair enough, my goal isn’t to persuade you against it, or even the other way. I’d like to highlight some of the dangers lurking ahead when you give your child a device that has no locks, no limits, no security enabled, basically a free door into the world wide web.
If as a parent, we would not agree to leave our child in the middle of the city unsupervised, when you give them a device with no locks or limitations on it, you are kind of doing that. If you feel your child won’t do the wrong thing, I’m sure they won’t, but its really important to understand the vicious nature of some apps and websites out there, which are designed to get kids distracted, addicted, and pollute their minds with the same filth we are trying to protect them from.
The aim of this website is to teach parents how to set limits and controls on their child’s devices, without taking it away from them, but setting some basic boundaries to safeguard them from what they shouldn’t see.
The best part of this is that it is completely free and it is built into the devices.
If you have an iPhone, click here.
If you have an Android, click here.
If you’d like to learn how to set up a Mesh WiFi network for your home, and to learn of their benefits, click here.
Technology and devices have a lot of positives and negatives. We need to provide our children with the tools, knowledge and supervision to manage a balance, and we need to build a healthy trust based relationship with them.
Media Safe 