Safety on the Internet

It is every parent's responsibility to guard children from Internet crime. Just like teaching your kids the value of road safety, parents can ensure a child's safety while online by supervising and discussing the child's online experiences. By educating your children about why this is important, you can help them understand the possible dangers and how to keep themselves safe.

Rules for kids

• Don't give out your name, where you live or go to school


• Keep your personal details a secret


• Meeting an Internet buddy in real life is usually a bad idea - they might be very different from how they appear online. If you really want to do it, take your Mum or Dad for support


• Never give out your passwords


• If you receive something that makes you uncomfortable, stop right away and get your parents


• Don't send scanned pictures of yourself or your family to anyone unless you have your parents approval


• Don't open emails, files or web pages from people you don't know - they could have a virus


• Don't believe everything you read on the Internet!

Rules for parents

• Become an Internet expert yourself so you can understand what your children are doing


• Find out what sites interest your children and take an interest in their online browsing


• Talk to your children about the Internet so that if anything upsets or puzzles them, they can tell you


• Ask your Internet provider about the safety features offered and buy a software package that bans access to unacceptable sites


• Keep the computer where you can supervise it's use and see the screen easily


• Share negative experiences and reassure your children that nasty things online are not their fault