How to keep our children safe online?
As young children navigate their way through the real world they are also coming across the digital world. This can be a tricky time for parents/caregivers and also children.
Netsafe New Zealand is a good place to start if you are looking for guidance. On this site they have a number of tips and tricks for families to consider when thier students enter the digital world and in particular social media.
The 7 steps below are copied directly from Netsafe to help parents support their children online.
The seven steps from Netsafe’s Online Safety Parent Toolkit are designed to enhance your digital parenting knowledge and have been developed with parents in mind.
- Understand: Read about the potential online risks, challenges and sometimes illegal behaviour young people face to understand what may happen
- Learn: Ask your child about what they do, how they use devices and who they talk to learn about their activities. Check in regularly to see what has changed
- Explore: Take the time yourself to explore the sites, apps and technologies your child uses to improve your knowledge and understand their experience
- Agree: Create a family code with your child to agree on what they can do online including sites to visit, appropriate behaviours, privacy settings and limits
- Teach: Recognise each child has unique needs, but some online safety concepts are universal. Start by teaching yours the Five tips to help your child thrive
- Model: Be a good example to your child. Make sure you role model the sort of behaviours you want to see your child use online and offline
- Plan: Make a plan so everybody knows what to do if something goes wrong and where you will be able to get advice and support in challenging times