Guarding Little Hearts (and Logins): Teaching Children to Protect Private Info 🔐
#ParentingInsight #StrategySaturday
TL;DR: This week, we focused on helping our children know what not to share online. Through books, quizzes, and real talk, we planted seeds of tech wisdom—because while filters help, wisdom guards the heart.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
— Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)
When it comes to online safety, the heart isn’t just metaphorical—it’s also your child’s digital footprint, identity, and personal story. Guarding our hearts online begins with wisdom, not just filters.
This Week’s Reflections
This was Week 1 of our Digital Safety & Etiquette series, and we focused on keeping personal info private. While the holidays made things a little wild, we still carved out 2 solid lessons.
Here’s what we did:
📚 Storytime with a tech twist — we read two brilliant books:
Webster’s Email by Hannah Whaley — the ripple effect of sharing one innocent message.
Chicken Clicking by Jeanne Willis — online shopping, deception, and one suspenseful ending. (Spoiler: it’s a fox with a fork.)
📝 Wrote reflections in our “Living Wisely & Safely Online” tracker
Each child wrote down a memorable moment and one next step from this week’s lessons.
🎲 Played a “Safe or Unsafe?” quiz
This game was a hit. Children got to imagine and discuss what to do in different digital dilemmas. Here’s a version of the quiz you can try with your family.
✍️ Created our SNAP acronym to remember the basics of what not to share online without permission: S.N.A.P. = School, Name, Address, Photo
Parent Prep: Internal > External
Yes, parental controls, filters, and safe-mode settings matter — use them. But long-term digital safety comes from internal wisdom. Like learning to drive, it’s not just about the car—it’s about judgment and training.
Here’s a simple checklist to reflect on:
✅ Have I talked to my child about what personal info is?
✅ Have we role-played digital safety situations together?
✅ Do they know they can come to me if something feels “off”?
✅ Have I explained that even “private” messages can go public?
✅ Am I cultivating wisdom, not just enforcing rules?
Action Step
Pick one thing to do this week:
Read Chicken Clicking or Webster’s Email together.
Play a Safe/Unsafe scenario game together.
Start a conversation: “What do you think is ok to share or not ok to share online?”
Small steps today sow big seeds for tomorrow.
💬 Want to help other parents?
What’s one tip, tool, or story that’s helped you teach your children to protect their private info online? Reply or comment—your experience might bless someone else’s journey.