The internet wasn’t originally designed with children in mind. Nowadays, kids use it every day to do their homework, satisfy their curiosity, entertain themselves, and, more and more, to investigate subjects they first encounter at school, on YouTube, through their friends, or via AI. The issue is that a simple search can soon lead them to content that is too complicated, misleading, inappropriate, or simply not appropriate for their age. We teach children how to cross the road safely, but we usually give them access to the open internet without offering them a comparable safe starting point.

Related Post: Should I Give My Child a Smartphone?

A simple tool that parents and educators may use is Kiddle. This is a visual search engine created for children; it is not a standalone web browser, but instead offers a safer approach to online searching by filtering out inappropriate material, giving preference to sites that are suitable for children, blocking some unsuitable search terms, and showing the results in a more visual and accessible way for younger users. Kiddle also states that it does not collect any personally identifiable information and deletes its logs after 24 hours.

What reasons should there be for families and schools to adopt something of this sort nowadays? Well, children are already doing so. The real issue isn’t whether they will use the internet, but rather the kind of internet experience we provide them. A child-friendly search engine isn’t a complete solution and must not replace parental guidance, digital literacy, or discussions about online safety. However, setting up a safer default is a practical first step and can be implemented immediately.

If you’re a parent, a teacher, a school, or developing technology for children, please consider Kiddle.

Kiddle: www.kiddle.co

How Kiddle works: www.kiddle.co/about.php

Internet safety tips: www.kiddle.co/internetsafetytips.php