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Keeping your child safe online
- 1. Helping to keepyour children safe online
- 2. About Childnet “Helping to make the internet a great and safe place for children” Promoting the positive Responding to the negative
- 3. Adults often haveanxieties about new media… Everything that’s already in the world when you’re born is just normal;
- 4. Anything that getsinvented between then and before you turn thirty is incredibly exciting and creative and with any luck you can make a career out of it;
- 5. “ Anything thatgets invented after you’re thirty is against the natural order of things and the beginning of the end of civilisation as we know it …until it’s been around for about ten years when it gradually turns out to be alright really.” Douglas Adams
- 6. This presentation Whyis internet safety important? What about mobiles? What are the risks? Why is the internet so great? Know IT All - what can parents do?
- 7. Why is internetsafety important? PART 1
- 8. Statistics 93% ofchildren in Europe use a computer and phone 8 out of 10 teenagers have a home computer, mobile phone and games console There are over 200 million registered users of MySpace There are over 2.7 billion searches on Google each month 38% of Year Six and Seven at the BSA have their own Facebook account
- 9. Different usage YOUNGPEOPLE Interactive chat, IM, Music, Games, Blog PARENTS Mostly email & web for research 28% of parents who use the internet describe themselves as beginners compared with only 7% of children Know IT All
- 10. Changing environment Downloading+ Uploading Consuming + Creating Corporate + Personal Separate media + Converged media Static + Truly interactive WEB v 1.0 WEB v 2.0
- 11. Supervision IN SCHOOL Supervised, filtered & monitored OUT OF SCHOOL Often no supervision, filtering or monitoring 30% of students report having received no lessons at all on using the internet . 79% of young people use the internet privately without their parent’s supervision Know IT All
- 12. Knowledge vs. WisdomWISDOM Understanding how to behave in a virtual world KNOWLEDGE Many children pick up technology quicker! 69% of young people say they mind their parents restricting or monitoring their internet usage! Know IT All
- 13. Why is theinternet so great?
- 14. World Wide WebSearch engines Homework Projects Personal interest Amazing facts The biggest library in the world Blogs (web log) Vlogs (video log) Web sites Text & pictures Music/photo/video Anyone can become a publisher Email/chat VoIP - Skype Instant Messenger Multi-user games Social networks Brings people together Connect Create Discover
- 15.
- 16. Connect: Instant Messenger(IM) Block contact Add another contact to the conversation Online friends “contacts”
- 17.
- 18. Create: websites byyoung people
- 19. What are therisks?
- 20. Potential risks 73%of online adverts are not clearly labelled making it difficult for children and adults to recognise them 57% of 9-19 yr olds have come into contact with online pornography accidentally. 4 in 10 pupils aged 9-19 trust most of the information on the internet. 1/3 of young people have received unwanted sexual or nasty comments online. Only 7% of parents think their child has received such comments. Inaccurate and harmful Adult content Illegal content Inappropriate contact Cyberbullying Sex offenders Privacy Advertising & information Invasive software Content Contact Commerce
- 21. Commercial risks Blurbetween content & advertising Subtle requests for marketing information- “Tell a friend” Invasive programmes - adware/popups
- 22. Commercial risks 20%of children claim they mustn’t fill in online forms, compared with 57% of parents who do not allow it. Know IT All
- 23. Content viewed Inaccuratecontent Extreme material Pornography 4 in 10 pupils aged 9-19 trust most of the information on the internet Know IT All 57% of 9-19 yr olds have come into contact with online pornography. Only 16% of parents think that their child has seen pornography on the internet.
- 24. Contact risks Socialnetworking sites Instant messaging (eg MSN) P2P (filesharing) Multi-user online games Chat rooms 49% of kids say that they have given out personal information 5% of parents think their child has given out such information Know IT All
- 25. Over to you…What do YOU think is the biggest risk to children online?
- 26. What is Cyberbullying?Threats Hacking Manipulation Stalking Public postings Exclusion Prejudice
- 27. Cyberbullying Threats andintimidation Threats sent to people by mobile phone, email, or online. Harassment or stalking Repeated, prolonged, unwanted contact or monitoring of another person. Vilification / defamation / prejudice-based bullying These may be general insults or racist, homophobic or sexist bullying. Ostracising / peer rejection / exclusion Set up of a closed group refusing to acknowledge one user on purpose. Identity theft, unauthorised access and impersonation ‘Hacking’ by finding out or guessing a username and password. Publicly posting, sending or forwarding information or images Disclosing information on a website. Manipulation May involve getting people to act or talk in a provocative way. Safe to Learn: Embedding Anti-bullying Work in Schools. DCSF 2007
- 28. Differences 24/7 contact No escape at home Impact Massive potential audience reached rapidly. Potentially stay online forever Perception of anonymity More likely to say things online Profile of target/bully Physical intimidation changed Some cases are unintentional Bystander effect Evidence Inherent reporting proof
- 29. Let’s Fight ItTogether film View the film from www.digizen.org/cyberbullying/film.aspx
- 30. Advice for parentsBe careful about denying access to the technology Understand the tools Discuss cyberbullying with your children - always respect others - treat your passwords with care - block/delete contacts & save conversations - don’t reply/retaliate - save evidence - make sure you tell Report the cyberbullying - school - service provider - police
- 31.
- 32. The pros andcons Content Contact Commerce Discover Connect Create Portable Always on and reachable Personal Away from supervision
- 33. Mobile phone adviceKnow how your child’s phone works (e.g. Bluetooth, Internet access) Agree the type of content that you would be happy for them to download, knowingly receive or send on to others Save any abusive messages/inappropriate images for evidence purposes Decide together what are acceptable bills Encourage balanced use – switching off at mealtimes, bedtime.
- 34. Checklist of questionsfor mobiles Mobile Operators Code of Practice Services to protect children that operators are committed to including. Childnet’s Checklist for parents To help parents ensure that these protections are in place. Questions include: How can I turn Bluetooth off? Can I put a bar on premium numbers?
- 35. What can parentsdo? PART 1
- 36. What you cando… Install software to protect your computer’s security Be careful which sites the rest of the family visit Use a family email address for shopping and online forms Use the free technology: pop-up blockers & SPAM filters; and your good judgement: don’t reply to SPAM! Check sites for extra security (padlock/http s) Commerce
- 37. Talk to yourchildren about what to do if they do come across something unpleasant and teach them to be critical Use child-friendly search engines or set a search filter Encourage them to use browser tools – Bookmarks & History Install filtering but don’t rely on it Find appropriate sites to visit and try not to overreact – lots of inappropriate content viewed accidentally What you can do… Content
- 38. What you cando… Get involved with your children online and encourage balanced use – set time limits Make sure they know who to talk to if they feel uncomfortable Talk about the consequences of giving out personal info or making information public Keep the computer in a family room Agree rules as a family – meeting up Contact
- 39. SMART rules SAFE – Keep safe by being careful not to give out personal information – including full name and email address - to people who you don’t trust online. MEETING – Meeting up with someone you have only been in touch with online can be dangerous. Only do so with your parent’s/carer’s permission and even then only when they can be present. ACCEPTING – Accepting e-mails, IM messages or opening files from people you don’t know can be dangerous – they may contain viruses or nasty messages! RELIABLE – Someone online may be lying about who they are, and information you find on the internet may not be true. Check information and advice on other websites, in books or ask someone who may know. TELL – Tell your parent/carer or teacher if someone or something makes you feel uncomfortable or worried, or you or someone you know is being cyberbullied.
- 40. Chat speak -Quiz Gr8 ROFL BRB TTYL8R DEGT IRL POS HOGMP
- 41. More resources… www.childnet.comwww.kidsmart.org.uk www.digizen.org
Editor's Notes
- #2 This presentation is called Know IT All - for Parents . Note: the word “parent” is used throughout the presentation and includes anyone who has a parent like relationship with a child. It has been designed for you to use in order to educate other adults about issues surrounding internet safety. Guidance for presenters has, where appropriate, been provided in the form of notes at the bottom of the screen in NORMAL VIEW. You are able to print these notes, if you wish, by selecting PRINT, then in the PRINT WHAT box select NOTES PAGE. We do recommend that presenters go through the presentation before delivering to an audience as some of the slides are animated and contain more information than may appear on the normal view screen. The presentation includes an interactive simulation and a film that you may want to show your audience. These resources can be accessed from these websites: Froguts www.froguts.com Cyberbullying film – “Let’s Fight It Together”: www.digizen.org It also contains reference to a film called Jenny’s Story that can be ordered from the Childnet website: www.childnet.com/order Information about Jenny’s Story can be found on www.childnet.com/jenny
- #3 This presentation has been produced by Childnet International, a children's charity that was set up in 1995. This charity is active in a variety of areas and works directly with young people, parents, teachers, industry and government. Childnet seeks to take a balanced view and promote the positive aspects of online activity whilst being ready to respond to the negative.
- #4 Ask your audience to look at the photograph. It depicts a very young girl playing, quite happily, with a portable DVD player. It’s unlikely that she would have read an instruction leaflet to help her work the machine. The next few slides offer an observation made by Douglas Adams (author of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy), during his essay, “ How to Stop Worrying and Learn to Love the Internet”. He observed that our attitude to technology is determined by the age at which we first encounter it: “ Everything that’s already in the world when you’re born is just normal.”
- #5 Simply allow your audience to read the quote.
- #6 This slide offers parents a comical look at behaviour they probably recognise in themselves. It is important to remember throughout the presentation that not all parents will have access to computers and even if they do they may not use them. Every effort should be made throughout the presentation to explain technical terms in order to make the subject matter accessible for every member of the audience.
- #7 This slide outlines the format of the presentation and two of the reports that have informed the content. 1) Children Go Online – a report produced by the London School of Economics. The study outlined differences between children’s use, experiences and attitudes of the internet compared with that of adults. 2) Fair Game? An in depth study into the commercial risks faced by children online, for example, a number of children’s websites were found to hold inappropriate advertising.
- #8 This section outlines why internet safety is important for young people and for adults.
- #9 If MySpace was a country, it would be the 8th largest in the world 93% of children use a computer and phone 8 out of 10 teenagers have a home computer, mobile phone and games console There are over 107 million registered users of MySpace There are over 2.7 billion searches on Google each month The number of text messages sent every day exceeds the total population of the planet 38% of Year Six and Seven at the BSA have their own Facebook account The sources for these statistics can be found at: http://www.lps.k12.co.us/schools/arapahoe/fisch/didyouknow/sourcesfordidyouknow.doc & at: http://www.schoolzone.co.uk/resources/newsletter/issues/2007/Sept07/SepPrim.pdf
- #10 Ask your audience some questions to ascertain their usage of the internet E.g. Who uses email? Who uses Instant Messenger? Has anyone booked a holiday here or shopped online? Does anyone download music? Anyone play online games? Has anyone created their own website E.g. Facebook, MySpace etc? Generally the answers highlight that adults mostly download i.e. take information from the internet. But children and young people are more likely to use it as a means of socialising by contributing to the information online, i.e. by uploading or creating their own content in the form of photos, films, blogs (web logs - similar to an online diary) or interact with other people whilst using games or instant messenger. This changing environment is explored more in the next slide.
- #11 You may have heard of the terms web 1.0 and web version 2.0. This slide tries to explain the meanings of these two different “environments”. One of the main differences between web 1.0 and web 2.0 is how they are used . Web 1.0 allows users to view information created by large corporations e.g. Microsoft, Amazon, BBC etc . In order to create your own website you had to have computer programming skills. Web 2.0 is the name given to the environment that the internet has now become. As more people added their own content onto the internet the environment began to change to become more interactive and personal. E.g. These days most newspaper homepages are not restricted to simply holding news articles, they interact with the user through offering videos, podcasts, quizzes, blogs - we can still view news articles of course but we are also invited to make or add our own comments.
- #12 Traditionally in schools, entertainment and social networking sites are banned. There are often firewalls to prevent unsuitable material getting in to the school system and effective filters that stop young people from accessing information deemed inappropriate by the school. These measures have been taken to protect both the pupils and the school. The previous slide highlighted how young people are using interactive technologies, but if they aren’t being taught how to use them safely in school, where can they learn? Supervision differs so greatly when children are out of school. In the home, in internet cafes and at friend’s houses young people’s online behaviour is supervised, monitored, and filtered differently.
- #13 New uses of technology can be rather overwhelming but parents still have a crucial role to play in ensuring that their children are safe online. Being net literate is no replacement for being life literate . In the same way that children are taught the green cross code, not to talk to strangers and to say please and thank you we must share good netiquette rules with children to ensure safety in the virtual world. It is about transferring offline wisdom into the online world.
- #14 This section highlights the positive and constructive ways young people are using the internet and mobile technologies.
- #15 This slide looks at how young people may be using new technologies. DISCOVER - Children are able to travel the world without leaving their rooms by typing a landmark or postcode into Google earth and other similar software. They can continue their learning outside the classroom by using some of the interactive educational resources available on the internet (one of which is featured later in the presentation - froguts.com). CONNECT - Young people stay in touch with each other in a variety of ways. They are likely to use Instant Messenger (IM) an example of which you can see here. As the name suggests this tool allows you to have a real time “conversation” with a friend who is logged onto IM. Some versions of IM use a webcam and a headset, thus allowing you to have a video call with someone – anywhere in the world (and included in the cost of the internet connection). CREATE – This is often the area that interests young people the most and is part of the web 2.0 phenomenon. Children are able to upload their own content for the whole world to see – how empowering! Here is an example of the Sorted website created by an 18 year old. He wanted to provide a website for young people and adults to help them use computers and the internet safely. If any of your audience are unfamiliar with what a Trojan is and are uncertain about spyware and adware, or want to know how to install a firewall or anti-virus software, then this is a great place to learn!
- #16 Education City Sam Learning Scratch Another example of how the internet has been used in a very positive way is Froguts.com. Froguts was originally created as a graduate project. The creator now develops e-learning products in the area of biology. This resource is accessible from the internet as a demo so it is free. It is a good idea to show froguts to parents to highlight the educational benefits of using the internet. I
- #17 This is an example of MSN Instant Messenger- sometimes known as “IM” or simply “messenger”. As the name suggests it enables you to have a real-time conversation with someone, and also share files, and therefore you must be online at the same time as the person you are contacting – unlike an email where you can write message to be read at the other person’s convenience. The left side of the screen shows the user’s account with all of their friends or “contacts” as they are known online. The right hand side shows the screen that comes up once two contacts are having a conversation. As soon as one contact finishes typing their message they press enter and the message will appear on the correspondents screen. More than two people can be part of an messenger conversation. Contacts have to be online to have an instant message conversation with each other. Users of Instant Messenger are able to block contacts who they don’t want to talk to (See icon on screen ) and save conversations they are having. Ask parents what they think this symbol stands for…blocking a contact. The best thing about being able to block a contact is that the blocked contact is not aware they have been blocked. The user that blocked them just appears offline – but in reality they can still be online chatting to their other contacts. IM contacts are ‘invited’ or ‘accepted’ onto a contact list and therefore there is an inherent selection process that occurs. Contacts can also be grouped into categories such as: friends from school, friends from club, online only friends etc.
- #18 A number of factors play a part in the decision to choose one Social Networking Space (Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Piczo etc) over another. Initially people will use the SNS used by their peers although some networks are created for those of like minds or similar tastes or interests. As they get older their tastes begin to develop and some users will migrate to another provider. Below is some information about some of the most popular SNS for young people in the UK: Facebook is typified by its personal content, users are able to upload photographs and other pieces of personal content. Users are also able to develop applications that are then embedded in Facebook and offered to other users. Current popular applications are horoscopes - users can choose to have twice weekly readings sent to their page, Political compass – users can take a test to show their political leaning, Photo editing – users can add this application which allows them to edit their photos without leaving the internet. MySpace is famous for being a place for self promotion. Budding performers are able to upload content for other users to look at and give feedback on. These may be short stories, poetry, film, music etc Bebo is one of the fastest growing SNS and offers many of the applications available from other providers. Users are able to personalise the look of their space by choosing different “skins”. These skins/looks are available from other users and from Bebo itself. Piczo and MSN Spaces are also popular SNS used by young people. The best way to understand why young people are using these technologies really is to have a go yourself!
- #19 The Sorted website was developed by an 18 year old. On this site there is information about many of the risks we face online and ways that we can avoid having problems with viruses, spam, identity theft, etc. It is good place to start if you are uncertain about what these terms mean and how they can affect your computer. The presenter may want to review this website for the audience – it will be of use when answering technical questions from your audience. It also gives information and advice on how to get rid of spam, and how to install a firewall or anti-virus software.
- #20 The next part of the presentation goes on to highlight some of the risks associated with technology. It is important to point out that it is not the technology at fault but people who find ways of misusing it.
- #21 This slide highlights some of the potential online risks for children (and adults!). Users face 3 types of risks online: Commercial risks are often overlooked and viewed as simply being part of being online. Young people and adults regularly sign up for things online. Signing up often requires entering personal details. Ask your audience if anyone has read a privacy policy. Many people don’t read them as they are long and very dry documents. A privacy policy will often highlight if your information will be passed onto a third party and used for marketing purposes. If you sign up for something online and then get targeted by lots of SPAM/junk mail, generally this is as a result of your information being passed on. The Mousebreaker example here shows how adult advertising is prominent on a website frequented by young people. On the internet users face content risks – there is a lot of inaccurate information on the internet. Medical advice is given out for free but how can the writer be verified as having proper training? Minority groups gather on the internet and share biased views, children need to be taught how to be discerning readers in order to distinguish between fact and opinion. Adult content such as gambling and pornography sites are also available and entice users through aggressive advertising on other websites. Children can end up on these sites by accident, having unknowingly clicked on a advertisement. More and more young people are also at risk as a result of content that they create. Too much personal information and inappropriate images can attract unwanted attention from peers or others. It is important to be aware of the contact risks associated with the internet. Sex offenders do use the internet as a way of contacting young people. In addition, some people are choosing to abuse others using the internet and mobile technologies –this is commonly known as cyberbullying.
- #22 A recent study conducted by the National Consumer Council and Childnet highlights some of the commercial risks faced by young people on the internet. Many websites popular with young people are targeted by adult advertising e.g. gambling and dating, as shown in this example. At times the advertising is very difficult to separate from the main content of the website thus making it very easy for children to accidentally view an adult page. At times pop ups may appear in the form of error messages. Children often fear computer problems and worry that they may get into trouble with their parents. Typosquatting can be a problem for young people and adults – often well known website addresses are mimicked by commercial websites wanting to poach web traffic. A famous example is www.disney.com and www.dinsey.com The mimic websites often contain adults content.
- #23 This slide highlights another strategy for targeting young people in order to extract free marketing information. This slide offers children the opportunity to fill out a “wish list” of their favourite products from this website and then email this list to an adult!
- #24 This slide puts the spotlight on content risks that can be viewed by young people. The screen grab is of www.martinlutherking.org, this website is on the first page of a Google search results page. The website address appears legitimate, but on closer inspection it is a racist hate site. The website in the background has the title “White Woman Awake Save the White Race”, it has a creativity for children competition on the homepage and is another example of the sorts of derogatory information available to children online.
- #25 The interactive nature of the internet is very attractive for young people. The bullet points on the slide point out just a few ways to contact other people online. There are risks associated with these mediums (some of which have already been looked at on a previous slide). File sharing can be a risky business, particularly if the site is illegal. It is thought that up to 50% of files on illegal file sharing websites have viruses attached to them. Some of these viruses are downloaded without the users knowledge and can contain spyware that watches user online habits and keystrokes – thus potentially allowing third party access to passwords and banking details. Chatrooms are very popular for young people and can be a very positive experience for some. There are specific interest chatrooms where young people can talk about their hobbies and interests with like minded people. Unfortunately predators can lurk in these open environments and young people never really have any way of verifying who they are speaking to.
- #26 This slide offers the audience an opportunity to interact with the subject matter, make comments and ask any questions that they think may be relevant to the presentation.
- #27 Cyberbullying can occur in different ways. A good reference to support this slide is available on the digizen website: http://www.digizen.org/cyberbullying/fullguidance / Threats and intimidation Threats sent to people by mobile phone, email, or online. Harassment or stalking Repeated, prolonged, unwanted contact or monitoring of another person. Vilification / defamation / prejudice-based bullying These may be general insults or racist, homophobic or sexist bullying. Ostracising / peer rejection / exclusion Set up of a closed group refusing to acknowledge one user on purpose. Identity theft, unauthorised access and impersonation ‘ Hacking’ by finding out or guessing a username and password. Publicly posting, sending or forwarding information or images Disclosing information on a website. Manipulation May involve getting people to act or talk in a provocative way.
- #28 Cyberbullying can occur in different ways. A good reference to support this slide is available on the digizen website: http://www.digizen.org/cyberbullying/fullguidance /
- #29 We are seeing a number of differences between cyberbullying and other types of bullying as highlighted in this slide. On an encouraging note, targets are able to collect evidence if they are being cyberbullied. This may be making a log of the times of anonymous calls, saving Instant Messenger conversations, printing malicious comments that have been left on websites…
- #30 Watch the film - accessible from http://www.digizen.org/cyberbullying/film.aspx This film was produced by Childnet International for the DCSF. It aims to show the consequences of misusing technology to bully another person. The digizen website (above) also contains character interviews with the bully, the target, the bystander, the mother and the teacher.
- #31 If you do think that a child in your care is the target of cyberbullying you can take action. Be careful that you are not punishing the target of cyberbullying. Children may feel reluctant to tell adults they are the victim of cyberbullying if they think that their mobile phone or access to online services may be taken away from them. In this way they may feel they are being punished for something that is not their fault. Try to get involved and understand the services or applications children are using. This will help you to better support them if things go wrong. It may also provide an opportunity for your children to show you what they know about the services and how they keep themselves safe whilst using them. Discussion about cyberbullying is extremely important. These 6 points below are the key strategies and advice for young people and should be discussed with children to ensure they are aware of what to do in order to prevent cyberbullying from occurring or responding to it if it does occur. Finally, know that you can report this behaviour to a number of places. Each school has an anti-bullying policy that is designed to deal with all sorts of bullying and they should provide you with information and support in this situation. The providers of technology have responsibilities to ensure that users are safe and do have policies in place for user’s protection. And if the bullying is serious or you need help in identifying the bully then the police may be called upon to help resolve the situation. It is sometimes helpful for young people to know that the criminal age of responsibility is 10 – therefore if they are harassing or threatening anyone (as seen in the film) they are legally responsible for their own actions.
- #32 This section looks at the use of mobile phones.
- #33 These days young people have access to a computer by reaching into their pocket to retrieve their mobile phone. With the advent of 3G technology anything that was once restricted to a computer is now available on phones. The diagram illustrates that anything that can be accessed online – positive or negative – can also be accessed via a mobile phone with the added considerations that mobile phones are often constantly switched on and that many young people use their mobile phone for calls, texts, online chat away from adult supervision.
- #34 Mobile phones should be treated in the same way as computers as they have many of the same compatibilities, however some other considerations should be made for these specific communication devices.
- #35 For parents who are considering purchasing a mobile phone for their child, Childnet’s mobile phone checklist is a great resources for making sure that all safeguards are in place. A set of pertinent questions (including: Does this phone have internet access? Is the phone registered for an adult or a child user? Can I bar any premium rate numbers?) have been put together using the UK Mobile Operators Code of Practice. The document can be accessed from the Childnet website and also from the Know IT All for Parents CD-ROM.
- #36 This is a good point in the presentation to remind your audience of Froguts.com or perhaps of a ICT project pupils at the school have participated in. In everyday life we face risks and have strategies in place to minimise these risks. The following slides will give advice as to how parents and children can minimise or avoid online risks. It is important to stress it is not the answer to ban use of the technology or even certain services. It that occurs then children will only find other places to access it without parental support – therefore making them more vulnerable to the risks.
- #37 Some points that you may want to expand on: 1) Visiting some unscrupulous sites/downloading can result in viruses and other malware being added to your computer without you knowing it, which might collect information about you and your online habits can be collected – software can help to solve the problem. There is lots of free software on the internet! 2) Many computers in the home are shared by all the family so be aware that online activities can have implications for the online experience of your children (adult pop ups etc.). 3) Encourage all family members to use TWO email addresses. One can be personal and used for friends and family and the other can be a family email address that is used by everyone when signing up for things online. There are lots of advantages to making this decision – your personal email account will not get blocked up with SPAM ( if your family one does you can easily discard it without worrying about losing contact with friends and family) and you can keep an eye on what your children are signing up for online. 4) Use the free technology available: Google for example have a toolbar that you can install that has an inbuilt FREE pop-up blocker. You can also find many FREE spam filters for Outlook and other email programmes by doing a search. For example: Spam Fighter or Spam Butcher! 5) It’s a good idea to look out for a padlock and https in the address bar if you are providing banking information. This will mean that your information will be encrypted and less likely to be intercepted by a third party.
- #38 1) Try to get to know the safety features available on browsers, games, search engines and either teach your children how to use them or let them show you how they keep themselves safe in these different environments. 2) It is a good idea – particularly if you have younger children to set a search filter. This means that adult content will not be as accessible to young children. 3) It’s also a good idea to add safe sites to a list of favourites. If you’re not sure how to do it – ask your children! This way you don’t need to remember if the address is .com or .co.uk so you will be visiting the same website you have previously visited. 4) If you are looking for guidance for the best filter for your family www.getnetwise.org provides a wealth of information. It offers the option to enter your filter requirements into a form that will search their database for a best fit solution. 5) Half the battle is over if you find appropriate and engaging websites that you know are safe for your children to use. Like Froguts for example, or the BBC.
- #39 Get involved – the emphasis must be maintaining open channels of communication with your child. To do this you must find out more about the technology – be an informed involved parent. And set time limits for their use. There is a growing concern about addiction in this area. Encourage your children to use the technologies to explore offline pursuits e.g. drama, sports, music and then get them out to experience them in the real world! Make sure your children know they don’t have to feel uncomfortable or worried about anything that happens to them online – that there is ALWAYS someone they can tell. Young children can find it hard to distinguish between general information and personal information. Go over the SMART rules ( you can view these on www.kidmart.org.uk ) and encourage children to think about safe general things they may want to discuss with online friends. Childnet’s advice is that the best online friends are friends we know in real life. At times it isn’t always possible to keep a computer in a family room. If a computer is in a bedroom it is a good idea to have rules such as the door should always be open and consequences should be put in place if a screen disappears when an adult comes into the room. Safe internet rules should be discussed as a family and if possible all members of the household should follow these rules. Kids love it when their parents have to follow the same rules as them.
- #40 The SMART rules are a good place to start when thinking about internet safety for children. Encourage young children to meet Dongle the rabbit on www.kidsmart.org.uk/movies/Safe_Surfing.swf to help them make sensible online decisions.
- #41 Some clues to decipher what children are saying on Instant Messenger services! Gr8 – Great BRB – Be Right Back DEGT – Don’t Even Go There POS – Parent Over Shoulder ROFL – Rolling on floor laughing TTYL8r – Talk to you later IRL – In real life HOGMP – hang on getting more pringles
- #42 Childnet also produces a large range of other resources that are available to order from www.childnet.com/order