SAFE SURFING – CHILDREN & THE INTERNET

Many Children and Young People use the internet for education, social and leisure purposes.. Children are naturally trusting, curious and keen to explore the web and with so many social networks sites they are also keen to make new friends. They need careful parental supervision and common-sense advice on how to ‘surf’ safely. Some potential risks for parents to be aware of include:

• People who might not be who they think they are or report to be
• Viruses
• Scams
• Internet pornography

What can parents or carer’s do to help protect children online?

Communication

• Encourage conversations with them about what they are doing
• Know what online technologies they are using- use this as an opportunity to get up to speed with your ICT skills!
• Decide on some ground rules for safe use with your child; e.g. Don't give out personal details (e.g. address, telephone numbers, school) Never meet anyone offline that they have only met online without a trusted adult present.

Supervision

• Monitor your child’s use of the Internet and, as far as possible, avoiding your child going online in private - can you have any form of supervision for a computer in their bedroom?

Setting Boundaries

• Have a conversation about how you think the internet should be used in your house.
• gree a ‘No minimising window’ policy. If a parent sees a window being minimised this gives them the right to look at what was in that window.

Control Systems

• Anti-virus software.
• Parental controls - contact your Internet Service Provider (ISP) for more information.

Be Aware

• Watch out for any unusual or secretive behavior from your child when using the internet

Click here for a printable guide to internet safety for parents

Useful Links for further information

Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) - www.thinkuknow.co.uk

NSPCC Help and Advice for parent www.nspcc.org

More information can be found in the attached leaflet An Internet Safety Guide for Parents.pdf