Keeping Kids Safe Online

As children become more adept at using the internet, it is vital that they are protected from websites that are unsafe and potentially damaging. As a parent, you may find it hard to keep track of your child's online activity, so, we've put together a handy list of resources that you can use to protect your child online.

How to protect your child online

Top tips

• 1. It is always best to talk to your children about staying safe online as soon as they start taking an active interest in the internet. Rather than teaching your child about every aspect of online safety in one sitting, however, give them one or two pieces of advice on a number of occasions. Remember, also, that technology alters rapidly: what's in vogue now may not be popular in two years’ time. Ensure that you keep abreast of technological developments so that you can ensure that your child is continuing to use the internet safely.
• 2. If your child is old enough to have a social networking account/accounts, make sure they learn to think critically about who they choose to be friends with. Teach your child how to select online friends and warn them that social networking sites make it easy for users to lie about their age and identity. It is also always a good idea to encourage your child to befriend another family member, (an older sibling, aunt or uncle, for example,) on the social network they belong to, so that their online activity can be monitored, (and supervised,) by an adult.

• 3. There are many ways in which you can filter and control the content your child is able to access online. Internet Service Providers such as BT allow you to restrict the information your child has access to. To read more information on the online protection tools offered by Internet Service Providers, click here Most gaming consoles and portable devices, (capable of connecting to the internet,) also come complete with tools to allow you to restrict your child's internet access. You can read about the parental controls available on games consoles, here

• 4. It is vital that your child learns how to recognise and flag/report inappropriate, online content. Open discussions about what they should, (and should not access online,) can also be beneficial.
• 5. Some websites require their users to be a minimum age, whilst the suitability of some websites varies from child to child. Make sure the online content you child accesses is age relevant. It is also a good idea to interact with your child whilst they are surfing online. Such interaction encourages bonding whilst allowing you to carefully track your child's online activities.
• 6. If your child owns a tablet, (or any other portable device which connects to the internet,) monitor when and where they use it. Whilst you can control what is accessible to your child in your own home, Wi-Fi hotspots in public places can be unprotected, allowing access to content your child would otherwise be shielded from. A number of organisations have subscribed to family-friendly Wi-Fi schemes Look out for the family-friendly Wi-Fi logo when you're out and about.

• Get Safe Online: free expert advice
• CBeebies: help your kids be safe on the internet
• CBBC Stay Safe
• Webwise's online safety tips
• Making the web safer for your child
• Google's safety centre: safety choices that fit your family
• Childnet: keeping young children safe online
• Norton: ten tips to keep kids safe online
• Child-friendly websites
• 30 fun and safe kids'websites
• More information on parental controls
• Mobile parental controls
• A parent's guide to video games and online safety
• Friendly Wi-Fi
• Information on family friendly Wi-Fi