Parents want to keep their kids safe online, protecting them from inappropriate content, dangerous predators, or unsafe online interactions. Monitoring your child’s online activity is essential, but how do you ensure that your child’s activity is safe? The kidSAFE Seal Program makes protecting your children as they surf the web easier than ever.
Simply by looking for the kidSAFE Seal on kid-friendly websites, parents can know their children are visiting sites that follow practices to keep their kids safe and secure.
Supplementing your current online safety procedures with the kidSAFE Seal Program allows you to protect your kids when they’re on the web. Together, kidSAFE, open lines of communication, and parental controls can make the Internet a kid-friendly environment.
How the Program Works
The kidSAFE Seal Program reviews the safety practices of child-friendly websites. Sites that comply with five core safety rules can earn a kidSAFE Certified Seal.
To acquire a kidSAFE Certified Seal, websites must comply with five safety rules:
- Chat and community features must be safely designed.
- The site must feature rules and education on online safety.
- Must have procedures to handle safety issues
- Offer parental controls
- Must feature age-appropriate content, advertising, and marketing
Websites and their products can boast their kidSAFE certification if they meet these important standards.
Websites can secure the kidSAFE+ Seal by further complying with additional privacy rules modeled after the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule. These additional standards include asking neutral age questions, establishing parental notice and consent procedures, and having a COPPA-compliant privacy policy.
Websites that meet these additional standards will have the kidSAFE+ Seal on their websites and products.
What the kidSAFE Seal Program Means for You
Websites that display the kidSAFE or kidSAFE+ Seal have gone through a rigorous, independent review of their safety practices. When you and
While kidSAFE does not conduct a review of the site’s content, such as its age-appropriateness, you can rest easy knowing that websites displaying the kidSAFE Seal were designed with child-friendly safety features in mind. When your child logs onto an approved website, you know that the chat and community features are secure, and the site has established procedures in place should a threat to safety or security occur.
Even more, you know that the website has parental controls in place, and moderators are accessible to handle any problems or complaints.
How to Find kidSAFE Websites and Products
Tap into a searchable directory of products by visiting the kidSAFE website. Here, you can scroll through the always growing list of websites and products that have earned the kidSAFE Seal.
By clicking on any site in the directory, you can learn specifics about what features the website offers. Within the kidSAFE directory is a certification page for each site that has earned a kidSAFE Seal.
If you do not see your child’s favorite website on the list, you can submit it. Afterward, kidSAFE will add your suggestion to its list of products to review. The kidSAFE Seal Program directory will continue to grow, so check back regularly for updates as more products are reviewed.
Advantages of the kidSAFE Seal Program
The Internet can be a fantastic resource for your children. It can enhance their technological skills, create bonds with family and friends, and supplement their education. However, the Internet also poses dangers, and, as a parent, it is up to you to protect your children.
Make sure the Internet remains a helpful resource for your children by trusting the kidSAFE Seal Program. The searchable directory allows you to assess a website’s safety practices quickly. Paired with your assessment of the website’s age-appropriateness, the program keeps your children on sites that make their safety and security a priority.
The program is an additional way to protect your children when they’re surfing the web. Maintaining open lines of
This sounds great. I worry a lot about my grandchildren being on some of these sites. I pray for their safety. Thank you so much for sharing this great information
The best thing to do is to use a parental control system so you can block bad sites. Things like Microsoft family can help and often your router has settings you can turn on.
Parents simply must monitor their children’s online activity! Your suggestions will be helpful to so many! Thanks for sharing!
Yes, they must! We just had an issue with our teen. We can’t forget kids try to be sneaky too but usually fail lol.
Thank you for sharing! This is very important for our kiddos!