Tuesday 7 February 2017

Tips for keeping children safe online - #SID2017

Safer Internet Day is recognised in over a hundred countries and the day offers the chance to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones among children across the world.


The internet is such an important part of children's lives....They use it for school work, to socialise and to play games....It is essential for young people and us as parents to understand how to reduce these risks....


Keep your computer in an open area - If your computer is in a place where you can easily keep an eye on your children and their online activity it will deter them from doing something they know they are not allowed to do and it also gives you the chance to stop behavior before it happens.....

Set rules - Make sure your child knows the boundaries of what they are allowed to do on the computer, how long they are allowed to be on it and what sites they are allowed to visit....

Use parental controls - Computers and even mobile phones have parental controls. You can block selected websites and email addresses by adding them to a filter list, you can set time limits and prevent your child from searching certain words....The four main internet service providers - Sky, BT, Talk Talk, and Virgin Media – have free parental controls that you can switch on from the router. If the controls are on, any device connected to your internet will be filtered through parental controls.

Teach your child to protect their privacy - Teach them to never to give their name, phone number, e-mail address, password, postal address, school or picture without your permission....Not to open e-mail from people they don't know and not to get together with anyone they meet online.

Be involved - Ask your child to show you their favourite things to do online and show an interest in what they do....This will give you a much better idea of what they're getting up to. Just as you ask your child about their day at school if they spend a few hours on the internet in the evening have a chat about what they’ve done and seen online.

Know who they are speaking to - If they are using email, instant messaging or chat rooms try to get a sense of who they are chatting with and whether they actually know the person in real life....Explain to your child that it's easy for people to lie about themselves online and pretend to be someone they are not...

Keep lines of communication open - Let your child know that they can come and talk over any questions or concerns about problems they may have encountered on the computer.

Know the age limits - Stop your children from signing up for a Facebook profile or YouTube page before they're 13 which is the minimum age....

Keep Up With Online Trends - As children get older they become more savvy about new social networks and apps and if you don't make an effort to keep up with them you could be allowing them to place themselves and their personal information at risk. 

Set a Good Example - Your kids pick up on what you do so model good behavior online. Don't engage in practices you wouldn't want them using such as posting questionable photos, trolling people or using bad language.

4 comments :

  1. This is such a good post and with rules that are so key
    You're right, the internet is so integral to our children's day to day lives, it's important to set out the ground rules.
    x

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  2. Hi Kim, I am so glad my two were young before the internet and social media became a thing. Computers and the internet are here to stay and keeping children safe has to be priority. You've set out some top tips here, having the computer in a main living area and talking to children about the dangers of the internet are tip tips indeed.

    Thank you for linking up with the #MMBC.

    xx

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  3. Such good tips. Internet safety is something that worries me - at the moment, the girls' internet use is limited to selected apps and they aren't really able to explore too much but it's something to be aware of as they get older and are able to use the computer more. Having the computer somewhere where it is easily visible is a good idea - we have our computer in the lounge which will make it much easier to keep an eye on the girls using it.

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