Teaching Children Password Safety
The average adult has 28 unique passwords. Many of those adults have found their way to the iStratus password management which allows them to save all of their passwords behind one master password. Our app is a safe and secure way to manage your passwords. But what are children doing. Yes, that’s right, children are being assigned more and more passwords.
We first noticed the need to teach our child about password safety when we noticed his lunch account was empty much sooner than we expected. When we inquired with the school it was easy to see that our child’s account had been compromised and other children were using it to buy their desserts at lunch. While it was aggravating for all concerned it was a good opportunity for our child to learn a security lesson.
Now, this same child is in middle school. While in elementary school he had one password to remember, his lunch number. Now, he has one for his text book in every class, one for his academic team, one for a band and one for his Google Classroom account.
When we spoke with our child about the security behind choosing his passwords he gave us a blank stare and then a roll of the eyes.
“Really Mom, if someone wants to break into my Google Classroom and do my homework, that’s okay with me,” he said.
But, seriously, this was a perfect opportunity to explain the importance of creating good password habits and of course sign him up for his own iStratus Security account.
Children and Passwords:
How do you teach your children about passwords? We suggest asking them a few questions to help them engage in the process. You may be surprised by their answers.
How many passwords do you currently have?
Why do you think these accounts need passwords?
Do you think there are some passwords that are better than others?
What makes them better?
In asking these questions, you have the opportunity to help them understand that the best passwords are something they can remember but something someone else is not likely to guess. If you live in Minnesota, your password should probably not be Vikings, but what about your favorite book, movie or drummer? Give your child choices. Do you think your name and birthday make a better or worse password than your favorite character from Star Wars? Do you think your street address makes a better or worse password than your favorite quote from Back to the Future?
By helping your child to discover the answers to these questions, the lesson is most likely to stick. We also suggest, because many of these passwords are unique, that they use a password manager such as iStratus to store all of their passwords and that they create master password that you both agree on. As they get older they will be assigned more and more important accounts. Teaching them now can save them headaches for years to come.