E Safety Advice for Parents

What Parents need to know about Videogames. - Blog from Digital Classrooms Click on title to access the blog

NSPCC/O2 Net Aware Resource

Your guide to the social networks your kids use Stay up to date and keep your child safe in today's digital world

Click here for advice on the games, Apps and sites children access.

POLICE MESSAGE:

We know that many children are using social media when ‘officially’ they are too young to sign up to the sites – we know because they tell us!

Lots of them say that Mums and Dads have signed them up – sometimes years ago. There’s nothing illegal in that, but please keep in mind that if you signed your 8 year old up to Facebook five years ago, saying they were 13 years old – they now appear as an 18 year old on the site.

If an adult tries to groom your now 13 year old via social media, they will be able to argue that they thought they were talking to another adult. Remember to update their details, check their privacy settings, and talk to them about which pictures they use for their profile, so they’re safe online. Thank you.

E-Safety Advice

Parentzone have provided resources to support us in working with children as they go online. They ask that you go online and learn more about what your children are really doing whilst surfing the web …..It’s a new free, online programme for parents and carers that they launched recently. Funded by the Prevent Innovation Fund, Resilient Families is comprised of three short guided presentations with voiceovers, hosted on our website. Currently, the voiceover is only in English but the Urdu and Somali version will be added this week. The programme covers:

Your children’s online world - what children do online and where they go
The dangers and where they lurk - how extremist groups use the internet to influence children and young people, the messages they give and what they miss out
How confident digital parenting can help protect young people from this misinformation, and how to become the voice your children turn to. http://parentzone.org.uk/resilient-families

The below has been put together by http://parentzone.org.uk/resilient-families-episode-3

Take your great offline parenting online.

Make these conversations and activities part of your routine family life.

Ask your child where their favourite places are online and who they talk to.
Ask them if they have ever seen any content that upsets them or promotes extreme views – of any kind. Open up the discussion and find out what they think.
Talk to them about how you want them to behave online. Make sure they understand that the way they behave online should be the same as the way you want them to behave offline.
Discuss with your partner and your children what the family tech rules are going to be in your house. And keep talking about them.
Make sure you have set up the technology in your house the way you want to. Explore settings and parental controls and update them as your children grow. Do it as a family.
Set some boundaries. Remember tired children don’t make good decisions

Social Media Apps

Setting safety and privacy settings for social media apps http://parentinfo.org/article/setting-safety-and-privacy-settings-for-social-media-apps

PEGI games ages ratings explained in full http://parentinfo.org/article/pegi-games-ratings-explained

Where to go for help with problems your child is having online http://parentinfo.org/article/where-to-go-for-help-with-problems-your-child-is-having-online

How much time do children really spend online? http://parentinfo.org/article/how-much-time-do-children-spend-online

Should parents worry about what their children are doing online? http://parentinfo.org/article/should-parents-worry-about-what-their-kids-are-doing-online

How does your child’s internet use compare? http://parentinfo.org/article/how-does-your-child-s-internet-use-compare

Under 13s and social media http://parentinfo.org/article/under-13s-and-social-media

How old does your child have to be to…? http://parentinfo.org/article/how-old-does-your-child-have-to-be-to

Social media - are young people addicted? http://parentinfo.org/article/social-media-are-young-people-addicted

Help on gaming sites

Kik http://parentinfo.org/article/a-parents-guide-to-kik-messenger