Top Tips for parents*
*adapted from information from www.thinkuknow.co.uk
1. Be involved in your child’s online life.
2. Watch Thinkuknow films to learn more.
3. Keep up-to-date with your child’s development online.
4. Set boundaries in the online world just as you would in the real world.
5. Know what connects to the internet and how.
6. Consider the use of parental controls on devices that link to the internet, such as the TV, laptops, computers, games consoles and mobile phones. Find your service provider and learn how to set your controls
7. Emphasise that not everyone is who they say they are.
8. Know what to do if something goes wrong.
9. What tools are there to help me keep my child safe?
10. Have family routines with mobiles and devices that connect to the internet. Don’t allow them to stay in bedrooms overnight but in a central place.
Websites for more information
The “Thinkuknow” website is brought to you by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) centre and provides outstanding and upto date information for parents and their children.
CEOP (The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre) delivers a multi-agency service dedicated to tackling the abuse and exploitation of children in the real and ‘e’ world. Often it is referred to as an online 999. By clicking on the button, young people and parents can get advice on a range of issues such as viruses, hacking and dealing with bullying online.
Vodafone have produced a Digital Parenting Magazine which informs parents about the various technologies children are accessing today. There is information on Facebook settings, Xbox360 settings, Blackberry controls, jargon busting and many more ‘How to Guides’. Well worth a read!
New e-Safety Portal for Parents and Schools – Internet Matters
Internet Matters is a new online portal designed for parents to access simple, easy and practical advice about online safety for their children, right through from pre-school to teens. It provides tips on protecting children from online grooming, cyberbullying, privacy and identity theft and inappropriate content. Internet Matters is a not-for profit organisation set up by BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media.