Online gaming is a fun activity that helps them stay connected with friends in other areas. It can also be educational by showing them how to work with others on difficult tasks. However, it’s also true that your child needs to be safe when they’re playing online. Phishing scams, viruses, and unfriendly people can put your child and your computer at risk. That said, to help keep your child and their tech safe while they play online, here are a few important things to keep in mind.
Data Storage Content
Sometimes, gaming may slow down a computer. As your child plays more and more games as they grow, your family computer can become slower and slower as it runs out of memory. Fortunately, there’s a way you can protect your computer’s data storage while also allowing your child to play to their heart’s content. External hard drives, specifically a solid state drive, can store your child’s games without taking up memory. With a solid state drive, you can easily run games directly from it to free up the memory on your computer. These storage devices use flash memory to provide a high level of performance and durability, making them a great option for any family interested in high-quality gaming.
Even better, you can use cloud storage for some games, allowing you to put your child’s save files in a place where they won’t get lost. This benefit is critical because a computer that breaks down could cause your child to lose all of their progress and become quite upset.
Password for Payments
If you set up online gaming for your child, you need to take steps to protect yourself from their potentially questionable buying habits. For example, if you link your credit card to the gaming system to buy items and your child tries to sneakily buy more games, you might end up getting huge bills that could affect your credit score.
This problem is no laughing matter as 18% of all adults between 18-24 never check their credit score, meaning that you could have a poor score without even realizing it. Leaving your credit card open like this may also inspire your child towards poor spending habits as an adult.
Set up a password that you know your child can’t guess when setting up your credit card access. This way, it should be easier to keep them from buying things that they don’t need and help to prevent you from dropping your credit score, which could affect your life.
Online Game Branding
While you might feel confident checking the games that your children are playing, branding is also a huge part of the gaming network. Up to 90% of all online searches are done when a person doesn’t know anything about a brand or hasn’t made up their mind about them. It’s best to research the game brands your child may be playing because different companies have different policies when it comes to how they treat their customers’ data.
Unfortunately, a large number of gaming companies are not afraid to sell data, even that of children, to the highest bidder. You and your child could be on the receiving end of potential scams and even stolen identities. Be sure to research game brands to avoid any serious issues.
Online gaming can be a great way for your child to spend time with their friends while learning and problem-solving. By following the tips above, you can help to make sure your child stays safe and secure while they’re online.
