07/02/2023
Keeping your kids safe online
On 7th February it's Safer Internet Day.
This years theme is 'Want to talk about it? Making space for conversations about life online' which is something all of us can get behind.
Safer Internet Day has become a landmark event in the online safety calendar. Starting in 2004 and taken up by the Insafe network as one of its earliest actions in 2005, Safer Internet Day has grown beyond its traditional geographic zone and is now celebrated in approximately 170 countries worldwide.
From cyberbullying to social networking to digital identity, each year Safer Internet Day aims to raise awareness of emerging online issues and current concerns.
What you can do to protect your children online?
As a parent it can be hard to control what your child is getting up to online – especially when they are at an older age and when they have their own mobile device.
Here is what you can do to protect your children online:
- Talk to your child and find out what sites they are visiting online. There becomes a fine line of invading your child’s privacy but speaking to your child regularly will let you know what they are doing.
- Talk with your child about responsible use of the internet, discuss what is okay and not okay to use it for and look at the possible risks.
- Talk to your child about what they should do if something goes wrong while using it and show them how to report abuse or block people on the websites they use.
- Set boundaries for how long your child can spend online and what they can do.
- Set up parental controls. The top four internet providers in the UK; BT, Talk Talk, Sky and Virgin Media offer free parental controls that can be activated at any time.
- If your child does have social media – make sure that all of their profiles are private, and ask them to only accept friend requests from people they know. Gently remind them strangers can pop up anywhere online so be extra careful.
- It is never too early to teach children the importance of safety online. From an early age you can teach your child how to use the internet and what dangers to look out for.
If you would like to take part in the day or would like to find out more information, please visit Safer Internet Day 2023.