How do I know my children are safe online?

With many children having devices of their own these days how can we be sure that they are being responsible about what they click on, download and view?

We can’t...... there are ways that we can assist them and put into place measures that will prevent them from straying into the wrong areas on the Web.

When at home we recommend that you set boundaries and rules as well as secure passwords for routers and any other accounts needing a log in. Utilise the parental controls available for you through your web browser and/or antivirus software. Keep in mind though that some tech savvy children will always find away around these setting restrictions, which is why it is best to try and keep the device in a central location. This enables you to see at a quick glance what’s on their screens and also monitor their usage.

When children are at school they are limited by the schools restrictions to websites, much as you are when at your workplace. So you can be at ease knowing that your school have their own safeguards in place. Most schools now have the students sign an IT Terms and Conditions form as well.

By far the best way is to teach them about safety online is “practice what you preach”. Instruct them not to give out personal details, bank account numbers, limit what pictures they post and put in place passwords and most importantly, tell them to read before they click on things. If you have time, it might be good to sit down occasionally with your child and google something together, or check out Facebook pics. I used to pretend that I couldn’t find something and got them to google it for me and show me some of the tricks they did, this way I got to see how they navigated their way around on the computer and taught me somethings as well.