Protecting your children online
Protecting your children online
Understanding the risks
Sexual predators
When you meet someone in person it is easier to ascertain that the person you are talking with is who they say they are or is at least the same age/gender as they say. This is more difficult on the internet. It is easy to create a bogus profile online.
Children tend to be more gullible and trusting and therefore more likely to fall prey to strangers posing as children their own age.
Sexual predators haunt chat rooms looking for children to target. They develop a friendship and may spend months "grooming" a child towards sharing information, photographs or meeting up.
Talk to your children about the risks and what to be wary off. Help them to feel comfortable talking to you about their online friends and encourage them to tell you if anyone asks them for photographs or to meet them in person, particularly if you don't know them or haven't met them or their parents before.
If you know about a child who is in immediate danger or risk - contact your local police.
Inappropriate content
There is a lot of material on the Internet that is inappropriate, especially for children. There are a number of things you can do to help prevent your children inadvertently on intentionally accessing this content.
Internet content filters are a valuable tool for controlling your children's access to online material and activities that you believe are risky. They can be used to help filter offensive content and can be individually set for different members of your family. Some internet content filters can set time limits for online use as well as help you monitor the online actions of your children.
While you can use filtering software to restrict the type of websites your children can access, they will not stop everything. Taking an active role in talking with your kids about the risks, answering their questions or concerns and being present will encourage them to come to you if they do come across an inappropriate site.
Having the computer in a communal area, like the family room or the kitchen will make it easier for you to monitor their use of the internet without having to constantly supervise.
Cyber-bullying
Mobile phones and the internet provide an easy and often anonymous way for kids to bully and intimidate other children or to circulate hurtful gossip or embarrassing photos or video. While bullying used to be restricted to contact at school SMS, email, instant messaging and chat rooms can be used to reach children anywhere including at home.
? Talk to your children and encourage them to let you know if they feel bullied or intimidated. Ignoring the problem won't make it go away, and there are steps that they can take to address the cyber-bullying. What is most important is that they tell someone.
? As in the real world, encourage them not to respond when someone is being aggressive or hurtful online. This can only make it worse.
? If someone is posting anything about your child online, especially personal information, contact your Internet Service Provider. Most likely your provider can have the information removed.
Report cyber-bullying to your child's school, if you have serious concerns for your child's safety.
How can Key Stage 2 help?
? It is now possible for your child to learn on-line, in a safe and fun environment. Key Stage Two is an internet based learning tool designed to build and grow your child's education in line with the topics they will cover at school.
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