In todays day and age, all children have access to the internet via a number of different devices, be it tablets, phones, laptops or desktop computers. It’s a vital part of life for most children, primarily for school work, but also for social communications.
It’s hard to keep track of what your child is looking at when they are online, especially when they are using their mobile phones etc away from home.
So here at Niche Etiquette Children we thought that it would be useful to share some tips on how to keep your children safe online and what is expected of them when they are communicating online.
- Set parental controls on all devices that have internet access
- Spend time with your child online. Find out what they like to do when they are online. Talk about the websites and aps they like to use. This will help you to see what they are accessing and allow you to comment if you think that something they are looking at isn’t quite right for them.
- Teach your child to ask you if they are allowed to complete forms online. A lot of forms are fine and are used by websites to collect data, but some might open you up to all sorts of issues, so from the first time they start to access the internet make it clear that they have to confirm with an adult before they can submit details
- Speak to your child about things they might have seen online that have made them uncomfortable. Let them know that they can talk to you at any time about this sort of thing and provide them with the language that they can use to make these conversations as easy as possible for them
- Help your child know how to block contacts on messenger platforms or social media channels
- Never respond to rude or abusive messages, whether in chat rooms, messenger or group chats. If a conversation makes you feel uncomfortable end it immediately
- Never send messages or emails in capital letters, as this is considered shouting online
- Don’t forward a personal message or email from a contact to others without checking with them beforehand. They may not want the contents of the message viewed by others