Kidshield Guide to Safety On the Net

When kids use the Internet the educational advantages are endless. You don’t have to be a computer geek to use the Internet, it's so easy even a child could use it!

Why it is important for parents to know Internet safety?

The internet gives great benefits to everyone, most of all children. And with all of its advantages, it has disadvantages which can create dangers for children. It is critical that every parent, educator and carer knows everything there is to know about the Internet and the possible hazards it creates for children. There is absolutely nothing to be gained by sticking your head in the sand and hoping it won't happen to your children - learn about the dangers and how to deal with them. 

Research shows up to one in 12 of the eight million British children with internet access have gone on to meet someone in reality after they first made contact on the internet.

A spokeswoman for the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre said: 'There is phenomenal growth in social networking sites, and young people have been putting personal information there which could easily identify them.

'We don't want them to put that kind of information online - because where young people go online, so do paedophiles. 'We will be seeking new safety features from the website operators. It's not a question of closing them down, we're just trying to stay one step ahead of those who are going online to exploit children.'

Source:  CEOPS

How to tell when children spend too much time on the computer

Too much time or too little time is subjective. Only you will know for sure and each child is different. Some kids really use the computer for studying, emailing their friends and playing games, while others spend hours surfing, going into chat rooms and even going into adult web sites that are not appropriate for children.

If your child tends to research homework, they can hours on the Internet and if they are seriously into games and chatrooms they can spend days on the Internet. Kids are great at switching from one screen to another, making it difficult for you to know what they’re really doing. Once you know the facts and rules, and your child’s needs on the Internet, you can set an acceptable level of Internet time.

What are your children doing online?

Kids being kids will no doubt use the Internet to view material that is only appropriate for adults, call it natural curiosity.  Although you want to respect their privacy, you need to know what they do with their time every day, especially online.  As a parent I would equate it to a child receiving regular phone calls where they left the room to take the call, I'd want to know who they were speaking to.  Don't let the silent nature of the Internet derail you from your normal parental curiosity. 

Learn how your kids surf online, sit down with them and ask them to show you the sites they visit in a non-judgemental manner. Don't expect to be privy to everything they visit but get familiar with their patterns of use and time spent online. Learn the potential threats that they can be exposed to and look for changes in behaviour. Remember that many mobile phones now offer Internet access. If you are really concerned you can discreetly monitor your childs activities online - to set your mind at rest, or take some preventative action that could save your child from an online predator.  There are a range of software programs on the market you can use, including Net Nanny our favourite at Kidshield. Download Net Nanny at the Kidshield Store

Emails and Chatrooms

Kids love sending and receiving email, instant messaging and the interaction in chatrooms, in fact it is often cited as the first thing they do when getting home from school!  Chatting to your friends is a great social interaction and online is just a natural transition for our children.  As a parent, Kidshield would recommend getting to know who your children are sending emails to and who they're getting emails from, if chatrooms are part of the interaction - which ones and what goes on in these chatrooms?  As a parent you need to know.  There is not a chatroom online where you won't find at least one adult sexual predator. It's a fact of life. They masquerade as kids and teens, often grooming and luring young children and teens to meet them.

Social Networking Sites

Social Networking has become the latest craze amongst the Internet community and for our children it is a natural part of their Internet education.  The online world is not just now an extension of our children's world, but an integral part.  Read More

What can you do?

As a parent your greatest weapon is education.  You need to know how your child uses the Internet, educate yourself and then your child to it's possible dangers and hazards.  Too many parents don't really want to know, because they don't understand the internet, or they think it won't happen to their children, or they don't even want to think about the dangers at all! 

Education is the key to prevention and the only way that you can ensure your child is safely equipped to handle any dangers or hazards that come their way.

  Who are your kids chatting to online?

Parental Control Software

Our top pick amongst the 25 tested by Kidshield  was Net Nanny which performed head and shoulders above other parental control software.  Net Nanny is more than an internet filter, it is peace of mind:

• easy to install

• easy to manage

• provides monitoring of Instant Messaging and Peer-to-Peer Networking and lots more

• costs less than an X-Box or PS2 game

• Did everything we asked and more!

You can purchase Net Nanny directly from the Kidshield Store