The internet is such an integral part of children's lives these days. It opens up
so many educational and social opportunities, giving them access to, quite literally, a world of information and experiences. It is so important then that we make our children aware of how
to stay safe online...
Top Tips to Keep Your
child Safe
- Help your children to understand that they should never
give out personal details to online friends they do not know offline.
- Explain to your children what
information about them is personal: i.e. email address, mobile number, school name, sports club, arrangements for meeting up with friends and any pictures or videos of themselves, their family or
friends. Small pieces of information can easily be pieced together to form a comprehensive insight in to their lives and daily activities.
- Make your children aware that they
need to think carefully about the information and pictures they post on their profiles. Inform them that once published online, anyone can change or share these images of
them.
- It can be easy to forget that the
internet is not a private space, and as result sometimes young people engage in risky behaviour online. Advise your children not to post any pictures, videos or information on their profiles, or in
chat rooms, that they would not want a parent or carer to see.
- If your child receives spam or junk
email and texts, remind them never to believe their contents, reply to them or use them.
- It's not a good idea for your child
to open files that are from people they don't know. They won't know what they contain—it could be a virus, or worse - an inappropriate image or film.
- Help your child to understand that
some people lie online and that therefore it's better to keep online mates online. They should never meet up with any strangers without an adult they trust.
Always keep communication open for a child to know that it's never
too late to tell someone if something makes them feel uncomfortable