Keeping Your Children Safe on the Internet

Do you worry about the websites your children are accessing? Are you unsure about how best to protect them? There are numerous steps you can take to ensure that they are kept safe:

1.) Protect your kids by setting up a Microsoft family safety account, an option which allows you both to monitor the sites your children access and, prevent them from clicking on inappropriate material. More information is available here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-vista/protecting-your-kids-with-family-safety

2.) Discuss with your children the sorts of websites it is safe for them to visit whilst teaching them not to share private and personal information, (such as their home address.)

3.) Take advantage of the parental controls provided by the major internet service providers. More information on these services can be found here: http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-and-resources/parents-and-carers/parental-controls

In this day and age, we understand, too, that it can often be hard to find interesting and compelling child-friendly content online. For these reasons, we have compiled a list of interactive, safe websites your children may enjoy:

• The official Disney website which is full of current film trailers and Disney character photos. The site also has numerous, cartoon based games: Disney UK
• Discovery Kids, an online resource which introduces children to the natural world. It has a “Tell Me” page which is designed to answer a wide variety of questions children may have pertaining to the natural, (and wider,) world. The site also boasts a number of interactive puzzles and games: Discovery kids
• The official Lego website which has a range of child friendly games: Lego
• The official online page of CITV, (children’s programmes on ITV.) The site allows numerous past TV shows to be watched, free of charge: ITV Player
• The official website of CBBC, from which can be accessed past TV shows, games, music clips, craft ideas and downloadable colouring activities: CBBC
• The scholastic children’s books website which is host to a number of fun, downloadable activities: Scholastic kids
• The official website of Cbeebies, an interactive resource for pre-school children which provides access to games, interactive activities, videos of past programmes and audio recordings of children’s stories: CBeebies
• The official Cartoon Network, host to numerous games and child friendly videos: Cartoon Network
• The official Nickelodeon website which offers access to a host of child friendly games and clips: Niclelodeon
• Woderopolis, (a website geared towards older children,) is an educational inventory of “wonder” that provides answers to tricky and confusing questions such as “Why is the sky blue?” Wonderopolis
• The official National Geographic website for children, a resource useful for teaching kids about the natural world. The site provides access to games, videos, fun activities and photos. National Geographic
• Pottermore, a website created by the author of the Harry Potter books J.K Rowling which encourages children to engage (and interact ) with the famous “wizarding” stories: Pottermore