Questions you may want to ask your child/children:
- What do you like to do most online?
- Do you play games with friends you know or do you play with anyone?
- Do you tell your online friends your secrets or things you wouldn’t tell them in the playground?
- What is the age rating of the game you are playing? Can I play/watch the game with you?
- The minimum age to be able to open an account on Facebook and many other social networks is 13 years. If they have an account, ask what age they pretended to be and why?
- Do you know your online friends in the real world? Are you always nice to your online friends?
- If someone online says or does something to frighten or upset you would you know what to do?
- Would you let a stranger in the street ask you personal questions in the real world? Do you let a stranger online ask you personal questions? If yes is it time to change?
- Can you show me how to change Facebook privacy settings? Are your settings correct and have you disabled ‘Facebook Places’?
- Has anyone ever said something nasty to you online?Do you know or can you show me how to report nasty comments, images and videos on (MoshiMonsters/ Star Doll/ Facebook and so on). Are you aware that you can usually do this anonymously?
- Were you frightened or scared?
- Would you know what to do?
- Once online – always online. Ask your child/children if they are happy for those comments, images, videos to be online forever? This online content could have a long term negative impact such as not getting a job interview or generally being unhappy about what was said and done several months/ years ago
Keeping your children safe
You keep your child/children safe in the real world. Here are some things you may want to do to help your child/children ‘Stay Safe’ in the online world:
- Set ground rules and with younger children agree which websites they can visit.Remember these will vary depending upon the ages of your child/ren.
- Agree time limits and regular breaks. Remember letting children play video games just before bedtime may stop them sleeping and have an impact on their learning.
- Find out how to set the parental controls and safe search. Consider buying parental monitoring/ control software for younger children. Remember none of these are 100% effective and supervision is always needed.
- Check the home page of your child/ren’s favourite social network, game and so on. This will give you an overview of the website and its suitability.
- Spend 30 minutes watching your child/ren play an online game so that you can see the content and be happy that it is suitable for them.
- Check the age ratings of games at PEGI. Remember video games ratings are all about the content and not the difficulty of the game.
- Say NO to your child playing any game that has a rating of 18 years and above or using websites that you think are unsuitable.
- Talk you child/ren about their privacy settings and ask them to show you how to change these settings. Encourage your child/ren to only have online friends that know in the real world.
- Tell your child/ren what to do if they ever feel frightened or scared when online or using their mobile phone. It is important that your child/ren know they can always talk to you and you will help them (you may not know the answer but by talking to the school, other parents, ThinkUknow FAQs, mobile phone provider and so on you will be able to find a solution)
- Visit ThinkUknow and look at the parents’ section. Show your child the ‘Report Abuse’ button and together click to see the advice and links.
- Visit Childnet and have a look at the parents’ section. Towards the bottom of the page, ‘Parents Online’ is an interactive animation specifically developed for parents.
A non-profit making organisation working directly with children, parents and teachers to ensure that the issues of online child protection and children’s safe and positive use of the internet are addressed. Childnet International produce an online CD guide specifically for parents, KnowITAll – www.childnet-int.org/kia/
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre has set up its own edcational website which has been designed and written specifically for children, young people, teachers, parents and carers.
Kidsmart is an award winning internet safety website for parents and those working with children. It has been developed by the children”s internet charity Childnet International and has excellent information on many of the technologies used by children, with guidance on how to ‘stay safe’ online.
One in five young people have experienced bullying by text message or via email. This web site gives advice for children and parents on bullying.
Vodafone have developed this website in conjunction with mumsnet. It is very accessible and provides information and guidance to parents with understanding their child’s digital world and get more involved. There is even an on-line test to see how much you know!
E-Safety Magazine
Please click to see the latest information on how to keep safe online.
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Internet Safety
The internet is a great place for sharing and learning. Please take care when using the internet at all times.
Below are a selection of useful links when considering internet safety.
BBC’s Stay Safe website
Games, advice, quizzes and links to help you to stay safe on the internet.
Dongle’s Stay Safe Factsheet
This factsheet gives you five important ways to keep yourself safe on the internet.
Childnet
This website is about the potential dangers with interactive services online like chat, IM, online games, email and on mobiles. It provides information, advice, true stories and games. The resource page also contains a number of links to other useful websites.
Comparitech
One of the key factors to staying safe online is protecting your privacy. This is often overlooked and most Internet safety resources focus on the obvious aspects such as not talking to strangers online etc whereas we dig into what parents, carers, and educators can do to ensure children can enjoy the Internet safely.
Captain Kara and Winston’s SMART Adventure
Follow Captain Kara and Winston’s SMART adventure on the Childnet website.
Kidsmart
Kidsmart is an award winning internet safety website for parents and those working with children. It has been developed by the children”s internet charity Childnet International and has excellent information on many of the technologies used by children, with guidance on how to ‘stay safe’ online.
Bullying
One in five young people have experienced bullying by text message or via email. This web site gives advice for children and parents on bullying.
Think U Know – Infants
This website is aimed at children between 5 and 7 and gives lots of useful information about keeping safe online.
Think U Know – Infants
This website is aimed at children between 5 and 7 and gives lots of useful information about keeping safe online.
Zip it, Block It, Flag It
The internet is a great way to see more, learn more and have lots of fun. To help you enjoy it safely, you should follow the ‘Click Clever, Click Safe Code’. It’s just three simple things to remember that can help keep you safe when you visit your favourite websites.
