One of the biggest risks children face is the approach to and lack of knowledge of parents to the real dangers of the internet. Now don’t get me wrong, I am one of the biggest fans of the internet and all my children go online daily. When used correctly the Internet is a fantastic resource and represents tremendous opportunities for our children into the future, but there are risks and by taking a few simple, common sense steps, we can eliminate a lot of the risks.

For a lot of parents they think their children are safe and secure when they are in the house as opposed to when they are out on the streets, but they fail to realise that via the broadband connection in the house they can potentially be exposed to many more dangers.

Here are some simple precautions that you can take to protect your children;

• Don’t let your children use the Internet in their bedrooms. If the computer is located in a public space then your children are much less likely to try and access questionable sites.
• If you have young children, then I would recommended using some parental control software such as Net Nanny. It’s not that ten year olds are going to look up porn on Google, but sometimes an innocent search can produce questionable results.
• Educate yourself about the Internet. If you feel that all this computer stuff is too complicated then do a course. There are evening computer courses in every town and ECDL courses are widely available.
• Talk to your children, ask them about BEBO, Facebook, MSN etc.. and get them to show you how it works. Better still get an account for yourself and see first hand how it works.

There are also some good guides and programs in secondary schools that give some Good practical advice like Teen Safe Computing and childwatch.ie

I also came across an article in the Irish Examiner which said that primary way kids are being bullied  is not face to face but is through social networks such as BEBO and Facebook, so it’s in your interest to find out more.

One of the biggest risks children face is the approach to and lack of knowledge of parents to the real dangers of the internet. Now don’t get me wrong, I am one of the biggest fans of the internet and all my children go online daily. When used correctly the Internet is a fantastic resource and represents tremendous opportunities for our children into the future, but there are risks and by taking a few simple, common sense steps, we can eliminate a lot of the risks.

For a lot of parents they think their children are safe and secure when they are in the house as opposed to when they are out on the streets, but they fail to realise that via the broadband connection in the house they can potentially be exposed to many more dangers.

Here are some simple precautions that you can take to protect your children;

• Don’t let your children use the Internet in their bedrooms. If the computer is located in a public space then your children are much less likely to try and access questionable sites.
• If you have young children, then I would recommended using some parental control software such as Net Nanny. It’s not that ten year olds are going to look up porn on Google, but sometimes an innocent search can produce questionable results.
• Educate yourself about the Internet. If you feel that all this computer stuff is too complicated then do a course. There are evening computer courses in every town and ECDL courses are widely available.
• Talk to your children, ask them about BEBO, Facebook, MSN etc.. and get them to show you how it works. Better still get an account for yourself and see first hand how it works.

There are also some good guides and programs in secondary schools that give some Good practical advice like Teen Safe Computing and childwatch.ie

I also came across an article in the Irish Examiner which said that primary way kids are being bullied  is not face to face but is through social networks such as BEBO and Facebook, so it’s in your interest to find out more.