Child Safety Online
Top 5 tips for keeping your child safe online
- Communicate with your Child
It is important that you maintain a good flow of communication with your child regarding their internet usage. Ask them to show you which websites they are regularly visiting. This way, you have some knowledge of your child’s online activities. - Safeguarding Personal Information
It is vital that you educate your children from a young age not to give out personal information online. In the same way that we encourage our children not to talk to strangers, it is important that the same mentality is instilled when it comes to online activity. Educate your children not to reveal any personal information to anyone online, regardless of whether they think they are speaking to a friend. - Offensive Content
Encourage your child to report back to you if they come across anything that may be offensive online. This includes online content or possible online bullying. It is important that your child feels they can approach you if something of this nature occurs online. Approaching this subject can be difficult and embarrassing for a child, however, it is important that it is made an open topic so that your child is not secretive about their online activity and the activities of others that they may come across online. - Use Parental Controls
Many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) come with parental control software. You should consider installing this software which can help to limit websites that your children can visit and will block specific online content that is deemed unsuitable for children. Parental controls are also a useful tool to log your child’s online activity. - History
Checking the history of your child’s online activity is a good way to monitor which sites they are visiting and also the regularity of their usage. If the history has been deleted, it is important to ask your child why this has happened and discuss the importance of communication when it comes to online activity.