Keeping your children safe online

02/12/2013


tech savvy children


With Mr A still being a toddler and without easy access to the online world it is still a concern to me as a parent about how I will keep him safe online in the future. Two years ago I attended a really interesting seminar at Cybher blogger conference about online safety and felt it was time to share hint and tips on this pressing topic.


As technology continues to grow quickly, our children are also following suit. Children as young as 2 are being given use of Smartphones and tablets (strictly off-bounds to Mr A). This can have a serious impact on development and family life. Schools have started incorporating laptops and the internet into their daily lessons. However, they haven't yet provided much information on how children can stay safe online. Therefore it's down to parents to teach them everything they need to know about the potential dangers lurking on the internet. With a demanding lifestyle, parents often don't have time to find out about the different dangers their children face online. 


keeping kids safe online


If you're looking to make sure your children have the very best start in life, Quib.ly can help. The community forum focuses on the fact that safety should always come first. Parents need to know how they can do this and be aware of the dangers that the virtual world can bring. This question and answer forum has all of the information they need regarding child friendly websites. 



How to approach online safety: It's important to think carefully before you jump in and try and teach your kids about online safety. Try to keep a proactive approach. Educate yourself before you try to educate your child. How do these social networking websites work? How is modern technology currently used? Understanding the technology makes it much easier to teach your kids how it should be used. The goal is to educate them so they can make their own decisions if they do ever end up on an adult based website. You need to understand that it's incredibly easy for children to find themselves on adult websites these days. There are some great tips that you can follow when educating your child about the online dangers they could face. You could even lower the chances of your child finding adult content by making sure they stay on child friendly sites. 



online safety


Top tips for Keeping Your Child Safe Online: Look up the different technology available in the home. Familiarise yourself with the features and the current trends regarding technology. You can take a look at online review sites to get a quick overview of the different technology available. There's child friendly software you can invest in that puts limits on the sites your child can visit. It also monitors their internet usage so you can see whether there are any potential problems you need to be aware of. While these are great at preventing the problem, it's still worth sitting down with your kids and making sure they know the dangers of the online world. Encourage them to talk to you if they do find themselves on sites they know they shouldn't be on.


Explain to your children why it isn't a good idea for them to share their personal details with other people online. Also make sure they know not to tell people when they won't be at home. This is particularly important on social networking sites. Not all of their friends on these sites will be genuine friends. Therefore the information your child shares should be kept to a minimum.


waterside



Another important lesson they need to learn is that strangers aren't always who they say they are. Above all else, be sure to tell your children never to meet anybody in real life that they met online. If they do plan on meeting somebody, they should tell you first and you can carry out a background check to be sure they are who they say they are. After carrying out a complete and thorough background check, ensure that your child knows only to meet their friend in a public place. It's also vital you don't let them go alone. No matter how much they protest, it's important to go with them. It's much better to be safe rather than sorry!


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2 comments:

  1. I completely agree. I don't have children yet but I already know just how vigilant I would be. I have seen some really worrying things happen online and over the XBOX, one resulted in me being so concerned for a child's safety, I spent a day on the phone with the FBI in America and talking to the little American boy who was being asked to do things. Luckily the little boy spoke to me and I tried my best to explain what was happening without frightening him and why he shouldn't speak with the man asking him to send pictures (it was horrific). He was only 7 years old and he said his family were all out, he was on his own. He thought he would be in trouble if he told his mum and dad when they got in, I was almost in tears. He promised to tell his parents what had happened and I told him they could contact me if they needed to. He was so very sweet and thanked me, saying he hadn't understood. The FBI said they would investigate, I gave them every piece of information I could. I was just so terrified for that child's safety.

    People need to think more about what their children are doing online, rather than using the computer or games console as a babysitter.

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  2. What I fantastic post thank you! I can only just manage basic parental controls, but when I see the images that come up on a basic google search (ie. nothing rude at all) it scares me! My children are older now, and I don't need to worry so much, but when 3 year olds can now get gadgets with internet access, we can't be to careful. I love sites like club pengiun and moshi monsters, which don't allow sharing of personal details, but still let the kids interract and have fun.
    I was once having a conversation with my son and his friend as I was making dinner and they were on the xbox, and I was told 'mum, you know everyone on xbox live can hear you, don't you'? I didn't! I don't think we can be vigelent enough as parents.
    Also something to watch for are subscription sites which allow your child to make in game purchases which get charged to the card that is paying for the subscription. Kids don't think of in game currency as 'real money' and my daughter ran up a huge bill on movestar planet wihthout realising (I didn't know till I got the bill).
    Love Vicky x
    http://aroundandaroundandupsidedown.blogspot.co.uk/

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