Parental Control

March 2021, this is what you want! From our Parental Survey

Graham Mulhern, BeSecureOnline Founder, is a regular media interviewee (BBC, LBC, Newstalk) in the UK and Ireland about IT, Social Media, Big Tech, dealing with matters in a straightforward, pithy, humorous way.

Graham provides practical advice grounded by age-related, developmental behaviour that seeks to help parents foster healthy social interactions with their kids.

Against a backdrop of the very real risks that modern kids face from social media, we need to teach kids the new safety rules for digital.

Start together

Introduce your child to the internet. For both parent and child as it's to discover the internet together. Try to find websites that are exciting and fun so that together you achieve a positive attitude to internet exploration.

The positives outweigh the negatives online

The internet is a grat educational and recreational tool for kids for children. Make the most of it and explore the internet to its full potential. 

The risks associated with meeting online ‘friends’ in person 

A rule for younger children should be that the child shouldn't give out their name, phone number or photo without your approval. Older children using social networking sites like Facebook should be encouraged to be selective about what personal information and photos they post to online spaces. Regardless of privacy settings, once material is online you can no longer control who sees it or how it is used.  

Be careful when disclosing personal information 

Adults need to understand that the internet can be a positive meeting place for children, where they can get to know other young people and make new friends. However, to avoid unpleasant experiences, it's important that children don't meet strangers they have met online. Be realistic here, this does happen, make sure you have a plan to deal to do with this, like telling me what you got upto online every day.

Kids don't see 'Fake News' they just see news. 

Kids usually can't see the difference between truth and lie, they trust. Teach your child about checking information and being aware of the information they see online. Children use the internet to improve and develop their knowledge concerning schoolwork and personal interests. Children should be aware that not all information found online is correct, accurate or relevant. This is a hard but one, but try to get your kid to double check things before believing the first thing they see online.

Don’t be too critical about your child’s exploration of the internet 

Children may come across adult material by accident on the web. Also, a child may intentionally search for such web sites; remember that it is natural for children to be curious about off-limits material.  This is a chance to discuss the content with them, and perhaps make rules for this kind of activity. Be realistic in your assessment of how your child uses the internet.

Let your children show you what they like to do online 

To be able to guide your child it is important to understand how children use the internet and know what they like to do online. Let your child show you which websites they like visiting and what they 
do there.

Advice for Parents of Young Children

It is never too early to think about your child’s safety online. If you are a parent of a young child who is just starting to discover the online world, there are a few things to consider: 

Talk about internet Safety with your Child 

Have a conversation with your child on some of the important things to watch out for when going online for the first time. Young children will not be aware of the dangers, so it is very important to talk with them about who they talk to and about sharing personal information online.  

Use Parental Controls 

Most internet technologies have built-in controls that allow you to limit the amount of time your child can spend online, restrict their access to adult content, and switch off functions like shopping and chatting. Filtering controls are particularly useful at preventing young children from accidentally encountering content that might bother them..  

Disable In-App Purchases 

Many apps and games give their users the option of buying additional game functionality, additional points/bonuses, and a host of other extras. Children can easily make purchases without even realising. You can disable in-app purchases using your phone or device settings. 

Activate Safe Search 

Help minimise the risk of your child coming across inappropriate content in response to search queries by activating ‘safe search’ in your search engine. 

Agree on what to do when things go wrong

Speak to your child about what to do if they come across something on the internet that bothers or upsetss them. This could be closing the laptop lid or turning off the screen and coming to get you.  

Set up a family email address

Set up a family email address that your children can use when signing up for games and sites online. 

Play it Safe. No

For kids, we recommend that parents choose safe and appropriate games for their child to play online. Most games have a rating you can check to see if they are age-appropriate. All games can be checked at PEGI.ORG. You should also check if a game allows for player interaction and if there is a safe chat mode.  Remember no headphones for kids. No for kids when gaming