Internet Safety A guide for parents

Screen Time It is important to consider how much time children are spending at a screen each day. There has been lots of evidence to suggest that it can have a detrimental effect on their health. Particularly, research has shown that being in front of a screen in the hour before bedtime can affect ability to sleep.

The risks online When allowing your child to have access to any device, we must be vigilant in ensuring their safety. We should take heed of age restrictions on games. For example, Pokemon Go and Minecraft Pocket are suitable for 9+ and Batman the Telltale Series is 17+! We should encourage them not to share personal information with anyone online. We should prevent them from viewing inappropriate content.

Setting up parental controls The 4 big internet providers in the UK – BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media - provide their customers with free parental controls which can be activated at any time. They have come together to produce these helpful video guides to help you to download and set-up the controls offered by your provider.  http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-and-resources/parents-and-carers/parental-controls

Talking to your child about staying safe online Talking to your child – openly, and regularly – is the best way to help keep them safe online. Explore sites and apps together Ask about things they might see online which make them feel uncomfortable. There is a wealth of useful information about talking to your child on the NSPCC website.

Here is a video to demonstrate how we can raise children’s awareness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nMUbHuffO8

Here is a video to scare us all! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_o8auwnJtqE