Having kids is one of the biggest responsibilities you could ever know and of course you always want to keep them safe from harm. I myself have two children and I always worry when they go to the park or even cross the road. I have friends that are also very protective of their children, one will not even let her daughter leave the house alone and she is 10 years old. Now all this is fine but when you ask one of these protective parents  ‘whats your kids favourite website?’ they have not got a clue. Some children are left to their own devices when on the computer and some parents do not even have a clue what their children are doing or who they are even talking to.

So here are some tips on keeping your child safe online.

Here are ten top tips from web safety charity Kidsmart for parents worried about their children’s security on the net.

1. Make sure the home computer is in a shared family room where usage can be easily monitored , not tucked away in a bedroom or in a study.

2. Learn to use the same technology as your kids, otherwise there’s no way you will be able to keep tabs on what they are doing online.

3. Warn kids never to divulge personal information such as birthdays, mobile phone numbers or email addresses to strangers online.

4. The ‘Stranger Danger’ rule applies online too, that means meeting internet pals is forbidden unless a parent is present.

5. Discourage kids from accepting emails and IM messages or opening files, pictures or texts from suspect sources. They may contain viruses or inappropriate material.

6. Internet filters are a useful way to block inappropriate sites being accessed. To find out more visit getnetwise.org.

7. Teach kids to bookmark favourite sites and to use search engines such as Google carefully with precise terms and correct spellings.

8. The internet can be accessed from many devices including mobiles, so make sure kids phones are registered as such with the provider and filters are in place.

9. The internet is an amazing resource with many more pros than cons. Chat to kids about it in a positive way and encourage them to be smart online rather than giving them a list of dos and don’ts.

10. Around 22% of kids in the UK have experienced cyberbullying. Ask yours to tell you if someone makes them feel uncomfortable or worried. You can report serious online abuse to the police at thinkuknow.co.uk.

Here are some packages containing NCMEC’s Keeping Children Safer on the Internet: Tips for Parents and Guardians and Your Kids Can Fill in the Blanks. Can You? brochures.

Keeping Kids Safer on the Internet (English 8MB)

Your Kids Can Fill in the Blanks. Can You? (English)

Tips for parents and guardians about how to make their online visits safer.

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English

View this publication online.

Contains tips about how families may help protect their children from online sexual exploitation and a quiz to test family knowledge of commonly used chat acronyms.

Download

English

View this publication online.

Websites

Netsmartz US Based

Raisingkids UK Based

Webwise UK Based

Get bsafe on line UK Based

Think u know UK Based

Bizzikid UK Based

Teachers.tv UK Based

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