Safety Tips
Inform yourself - Use and understand the workings of the internet.
Talk to your children about what they are doing, your interest can be reassuring and offers the opportunity for them to confide, ie. tell you if they come across anything on the Internet which makes them feel "uncomfortable".
Talking to your children about what they are doing also offers you the opportunity for you to advise.
Encourage your children to visit our Safer Internet Ireland Awareness partners "Webwise". Webwise provide a complete range of Internet safety advice for parents, especially for those with children of primary school age.It's an excellent resource for children, teens and adults...
Our Helpline partner in the Safer Internet Ireland project is "Childline". They provide a 24/7 service for children under 18 who feel they need to talk about life difficulties they are having both online and in their everyday lives. This is now accessible as an online "messaging" service.
Basics...
- Keep the computer where you can see it in a busy part of the house - not in the child's bedroom!
- Don't forget about laptops and smart phones!
- Spend time on-line and see what they are doing.
- Look and take note if too much time is being spent on-line.
Rules...
- Protect privacy, Don't allow your child to give out personal information such as phone numbers, address, passwords etc.
- When the Internet can be accessed and for how long.
- Never allow your child to meet an on-line friend unsupervised. Strangers online can be hard to spot. Familiarise yourself with their online friends.
Be Watchful...
- Find out what your childrens habits are regarding social media platforms.
- Who are the talking to? Who are their "friends"?
- Check history files for suitability of visited sites and chat rooms.
- Check e-mails (especially for younger children)
- Check phone bills.
Set Rules...
- When the internet can be accessed and for how long
- Never give personal information without permission
- Never agree to meet an on-line friend without permission.
Some more resources…
Get With It - Awareness for parents
The Office for Internet safety has put together this excellent series of guides is aimed directly at parents guiding them through the often confusing and extensive new technologies and software that their children are likely to explore. These condensed booklets provide some great insights into social media trends and include plenty of techno and jargon busting guides. Well worth having a read!
