Thursday 26 th Feb

What is my child doing online? Playing Games Making Friends Talking to people Sharing Searching Using a mobile phone

Playing Games Your child may be playing on the computer on sites like Club Penguin, CBeebies, Moshi Monsters, Pottermore and Minecraft. They may have a console, like a Wii or an Xbox – remember, most consoles connect to the internet. As they get older they may want to explore ‘online role playing’ and ‘social gaming’ Important you’re involved in their gaming experience from the start.

To help your child game safely Check the age rating of the game Join in the fun Look for the game’s advice for parents Know who they’re talking to Talk to them about acceptable online behaviour. (Good behaviour offline should be mirrored online) Beware the Permission Settings!!!!!

Facebook Shouldn’t have a Facebook account until 13 If they are going to have one, it’s better you’re involved than not. Make sure their online age is the same as their actual age. Know who their friends are Know what they can see Know what to do if people are being mean (Report) Be careful about the information/images that YOU share on Facebook. School uniform especially!!

Chatting Instant Messaging Hangouts, Facetime, Skype etc Chatrooms (Moderated and unmoderated) Ask your children.

Set up the account with them Check moderation possibilities – Hotmail has parental controls allowing you to see the s they receive. Share password Only people they know and trust Never open s from people they don’t know (or links they don’t recognise) Encourage them to tell you if they see anything that upsets them online.

Searching Easy for children to stumble across things that might upset or disturb them (by accident!) They may search ‘rude’ words, without thinking about the results they might get. Change the ‘search settings’ on search engines. and click on the ‘search setting’ tab in the top right hand corner.

Mobiles Have come a long way – now mini computers Sharing Chatting Texting Gaming Photos/Videos GPS!!

‘Boundaries and consequences should be the same in the online world as the offline world.’