Safe Surfing

The brutal truth.

The truth is, you can never be sure that your child is safe on the World Wide Web.  However, there are measures you can take to ensure that your child is aware of the dangers and of the consequences if they do not use the www safely and sensibly.

First and foremost, do not allow your child unlimited access to the internet for long periods of time without supervision.  Keep the computer in the family room.  There is obviously more danger if a child has a computer in his or her own room.

Look over their shoulder every few minutes to see what is going on.  If you are allowing access to chatrooms then make sure you are monitoring conversations most of the time and ask questions about to whom they are talking.  The use of a webcam is great for chatting to friends and family, but be aware that other people can log in and chat to your child at any time even if you have a strict named list.  The same is true of chatrooms, email, blogs and all access to the www.  Anyone can log in to see who is online on your computer quite easily, even through your protection software.  The safest thing is to monitor and ask what they are doing at all times and frequently.

Use "Nanny" software to restrict which sites may be accessed.  This is usually free from your Service Provider.  It is not foolproof, but is a good start.

Bullying (flaming), grooming and other forms of abuse can be very subtle.  Be web aware.  Do not trust anyone you do not know well.  Do not allow the use of real names.  Addresses are never required.  Private chats are not a good idea.  Look out for signs.  You know when your child is hiding something, is worried or simply lying.  They may not be aware of anything wrong or they may be giving it a try for the excitement.  Be aware that online bullying is rife.  'Flaming' is extremely harmful and may be going on without your knowledge.  Your child may be flaming.  Check.  Ask.  Talk about what they have been doing on line.

The Childline site is a good source of advice: