The internet can be a great resource for information for your child’s school work, but you will want to be aware of what they are up to on the computer. Although the internet can stimulate your child’s interest in certain things, it is also very open to abuse. Paedophilia grooming does occur although it is very rare. On the internet, anyone can become who and what they want to be, so you will want to know who your child is befriending online. Although your child may not be forthcoming and may consider you as being nosy, you should do what you can to find out exactly what sites your youngster has been visiting.
One of the best things that you can do is to talk to your child and ask them about any friends that they are making on the internet. Make sure that they understand the risks, and also inform them of any age limits which are in place on various sites. If your child has joined any sites, make sure that they are not putting any personal information on there, such as address and phone number. Also, tell them that they are not to put any photos on the internet, as these can attract the wrong kinds of people.

As a parent, you should be aware of any changes in your child’s behaviour.  Are they using the internet more than before? Has your child changed at all and possibly become the target of bullying?  If you are concerned, you may want to consider installing parental control software on your computer. You can also check through the internet history and have a look at what sites your child has been visiting. If you do this often, you will be aware of any changes in your child’s interests. If the history has been deleted, you may want to know what your child is hiding. There are many things that you can do to take control and ensure your child’s safety. If you know what chat rooms or blog sites your child has been visiting, you can email the providers and find out whether the conversations are monitored. Moderated sites are monitored by adults and will typically minimise any bullying or abuse.

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Tags: awareness, blogs, child, children, control, grooming, information, Internet, knowledge, parental, parenting, sites

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 29th, 2008 at 11:25 am and is filed under Education, Homework, Internet, Safety, School, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.