Internet safety

This is the last post on a series of three posts concerning the use of technology by children.

Key principles for all age groups concerning internet safety:

• Keep lines of communications open.
• Create a list of internet rules with your kids (See Rules 'N Tools Youth Pledge)
• Set parental control at the age appropriate levels and use filtering and monitoring tools as a complement -not a replacement- for parental supervision.
• Supervise all internet-enabled devices and keep computers in a public area of the home.
• Encourage your kids to come to you if they encounter anything online that makes them feel uncomfortable or threatened (Stay calm and don't blame your child; otherwise, they won't turn to you in the future for help when they need it).
• Teach them not to interact with people they don't know offline, because an online predator or cyberbully can disguise him/herself.
• Check the history file on your computer to see which sites your child has accessed.
• Teach your child the golden rule: do unto others as they would have done unto themselves. Research shows that children who are victimised online have often behaved aggressively online.
• Keep doing research, e.g. google acronyms so that you understand the language children are using online.