YHGfL - Making the most of your broadband

You may have heard about children being harmed following a contact made through the Internet. Thankfully this is a rare occurence but it is a serious issue. Children need to develop skills to be a safe when using the Internet and they need to be protected from materials which are dangerous or inappropriate. They also need to know how to develop their sense of discrimination and how to avoid danger as they grow older.

Five safety points:

• Encourage children to discuss their computer activity with you and spend time working with them when they are on the Internet
• Tell your child never to divulge their name, their address, their age, their school or information about their family to anyone on the Net. This is at the same level of importance as crossing the road or the 'never take sweets from a stranger' guidance
• Tell them to tell you immediately they feel uneasy about any situation they come across on the Internet
• Computers placed in communal areas are less prone to encouraging long periods of isolated activity
• Tell them not to provide information about family, neighbours or friends