Tips to help keep your child safe online.

I recently did a post about new research suggesting that there is now a worrying number of under 12’s on social media sites.

With more and more young children becoming computer savvy, It’s important that we are clued up on how to keep them protected whilst browsing online.

Here are some steps you can take to keep your kids safe:

Use parental controls to filter, restrict, monitor or report content.

It would be a great idea to set up parental controls to stop your child from seeing unsuitable or harmful content online.

You can do this with the help of your internet providers as most of them provide controls to help you restrict or filter unsuitable content.

You can also activate safe search on Google search and most laptops and tablets have their own parental controls for you to take advantage of.

Make your children aware of privacy settings and reporting tools.

If your child uses social media sites then make sure they know how to report anything they find upsetting or offensive. Double check their privacy settings and make sure none of their personal details are available to access online.

Block popups

Unwanted popups can unsuspectingly lead to adult content when clicked onto. Use AdBlock to prevent any popups from cropping up out of the blue.

Know who they are talking to online.

It may sound like an obvious one, but make sure they are aware of the dangers of meeting people online. The NSPCC suggests asking them these three questions:

• who do they know that has the most online friends?
• how can they know so many people?
• how do they choose who to become friends with online?

Make sure your kids are aware that people online aren’t always who they say they are.

Have regular conversations with your children, starting as early as possible.

According to the NSPCC, children and young people spend an average of 12 hours online a week. It is becoming a part of children’s routine earlier and earlier on in life, therefore it is important to start talking to your children about internet safety and the dangers as early as possible.

Keep a close eye on browser history.

Regularly check the browser history so you can be aware of what the little ones are searching for and what sites they have ended up on. You’ll be able to see if anything inappropriate has cropped up.

CLICK HERE for more information on children’s online safety by the NSPCC.