Children’s safety on the internet

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Difficulty: Moderate

Children’s safety on the internet is such a broad area and everyone's circumstances are different. This article aims to cover the major areas with suggestions on how you can approach children on this topic.

What is the internet?

Before you explain the potential threats using the internet its a good idea to give your child some background on the internet is and how it works. You can start with a simple diagram of connected devices such as http://www.bypeople.com/internet-kids-explained. The main points to get across are:

  • Internet is made up of many connected computers

  • People connecting to the internet can be a friend down the road or it could be a complete stranger across the other side of the world.

  • You don’t know who is on the other side of the computer and it could be another child or an adult. Even an adult pretending to be a child.

Start talking to your child about the internet

There is a very good video by Planet Nutshell  covering points such as:

How big is the internet and is it part of the real world?

Main points to make are:

  • It is NOT the real world

  • The internet can be accessed from many devices including computers, mobiles, tablets (iPad’s, etc), games consoles (e.g. PlayStation) and even the TV

What are the good things on the internet?

Main points to make are:

  • There are many good things on the internet and its important not simply highlight the potential harms but what value the internet can bring

  • Benefits such as entertainment (games, movies), learning new things, communicating with others and sharing ideas

Is the internet made just for kids? 

Main points to make are:

  • Only some of the internet is made for kids

  • Pictures and other things on the internet kids should not see

Garfield's Cyber Safety Adventures

Garfield lends a helping hand (and mouth) focusing on the various topics published by the Center for Cyber Safety and Education. These are a great set of videos that are both entertaining and educational.

Garfield's Cyber Safety Adventures: Privacy

Garfield's Cyber Safety Adventures: Pause Before You Post

Garfield's Cyber Safety Adventures: Cyberbullying

Teens (14+)

The conversation differs at this age as they are able to comprehend real-world concepts a lot better. Some good points from Internet Matters are:

  • Stay involved

  • Keep their information private

  • Talk about online reputation

  • Show you trust them

  • Be responsible

Common threats to being online

One of the things you can do with your children is to talk to them and explain the common threats that they may come across when using the internet. This is something that can be done repeatedly to ensure they become aware of.

Inappropriate content

The unfortunate thing is that they may be searching for something innocent and then come across inappropriate content. There are many forms of inappropriate content and what's considered inappropriate for a child varies from family to family. There are some obvious topics that you can explain at your discretion such as nudity, violence and bad language.

You can suggest the following to your child:

  • Call an adult and be open to discussion about what happens on the internet.  The more open you are with your child and his/her internet use, the higher the chance you of you finding content that might not be appropriate. Try not to be judgemental and encourage them to come to you with any concerns.

  • They won't be in trouble. Explain that they are not going to be in trouble if they do happen to come across inappropriate content.

In-game chatting and chat rooms

There is an ever-increasing number of games that allow you to chat with opponents and it’s not just limited to the computer. Game consoles also have the ability to use chat rooms and in-game chatting.

  • Encourage your kids to interact online only with those they know, such as friends and relatives. You may even want to put a blanket rule of no chatting unless its someone you know in the real world but this is a little hard to police.

  • Explain to your children that not everyone tells the truth. When chatting and you don’t know who the other person is and what their intentions are.

  • If a person on the chat asks your age, where you live, your contact number and if your parents work, then an adult should be contacted. Avoid giving any information and the child should be educated on how to block unwanted chats in the chat room or game.

Cyberbullying

There are a wide number of resources available from government and organisations tackling the topic of Cyberbullying. It’s recommended to refer to a local government site if possible on what you need to do if your child is experiencing Cyberbullying. One thing to remember is that it can go both ways, your child could be the bully so it’s good to remind your child of the following:

"If you wouldn’t do it face to face – Don’t do it online"

Examples of cyber-bullying include:

  • Posting hurtful messages, images or videos online

  • Repeatedly sending unwanted messages online

  • Sending abusive texts and emails

  • Excluding or intimidating others online

  • Creating fake social networking profiles or websites that are hurtful

  • Nasty online gossip and chat, and

  • Any other form of digital communication which is discriminatory, intimidating, intended to cause hurt or make someone fear for their safety.”

Links:

Online scams

There is a vast number of online scams that adults fall for every day, so it obvious that children can also be tempted also and need to be informed of the online scams and clicking links that they are not familiar with.

  • Free music: These programs offer free music for in exchange for personal information or other details. Stick to music programs like iTunes, or online stores such as https://www.spotify.com or just by CDs to play it safe.

  • Freebies: Most “free” stuff offered on the internet is a ploy to collect information. Tell your kids to avoid the freebies, they are usually a trap.

  • Ads: When browsing the internet they might be presented with advertising banners on the site they are visiting. There is no reason why a child needs to click the advertising as most of the time it takes then to unwanted information or potential scams. Just ask them not to click them.

Some tips:

  • Ask your child to stick with what is familiar to them and inform you of any new places they are visiting on the internet.

  • Teach your kids to keep personal information private

  • Never click on links or open attachments the child receives in their email from people/addresses unknown to the child.

Tools parents can use

Tools for inappropriate Content

Tools for In-game chatting and chat rooms

Create an account for yourself and get familiar with the game and its settings for your child.

Tools for online Scams

Follow the guide on how to set up a safe and secure home computer for all your family to use to ensure your computer is as safe and secured as possible.

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