Keeping your children safe online is a key consideration for any 21st-century parent. Children face more and more unknown online dangers and parents are frequently blind to this. Read on to find out what these dangers are and how you can help to reduce them.
Parental controls
Parental controls are important; however, setting them up does not mean you have done your job. Parental controls simply mean that children cannot view pornographic images; therefore, these controls can only do so much. You also need to set the social settings in all their games, which means they can only communicate with their actual friends on games such as Roblox and can only show videos to real friends on apps such as Music.ly. Also make sure that geo-locators are turned off and that they do not automatically turn on every time you download a new game.
Open lines of communication
If your child feels that you will simply delete the game and take the phone away if they tell you about something that has happened online, they won’t tell you. Just as you would not blame your child if a stranger tried to lead them astray in the park, don’t punish them if it happens online. Go on this journey with your child. When they want a new game, download it yourself, play it, look at the settings, and get a feel for it.
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Training
E-safety training is vital for parents and is often provided by schools. If your school has not offered any e-safety training yet, push it to or write to the governors. Alternatively, set up a session in your local hall and get local parents to share the cost. Training is not just a good idea for parents but also for children. We can prevent our children from coming to harm by ensuring those who work with them have a CRB check, which can be obtained by a company such as http://www.carecheck.co.uk/, but it is a lot harder to do the same when it comes to who they are chatting to online. Make sure you take regular training, as the dangers change frequently.
This is a very brief overview of helping children to stay safe online, which is a growing concern for everyone. If you would like more information, contact the NSPCC or your local police force.