Qanvas - website and design by Richard Lingard - Advice

A Parent's Guide to Internet Safety

19/12/2015

This is the best information I've picked up while looking into internet safety as a parent and internet user - so I hope it will help you too.
If you have any questions or topics you would like me to cover, please get in touch by email and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Remember - don't fear the internet, just learn how to use it well.
Richard x

1. Watch this video...

25/2/2013

This video is well worth a minute of your time - a guide to problems and solutions you and your family might encounter using today's internet. Made by CEOP it is a great place to start. Grab a coffee and get started...

I'd also check out the new www.internetmatters.org website set up by the 'big four' UK internet providers which aims to be a one-stop shop for parental guidance on the internet.

2. Setting up at home...

18/2/2013

OK, so the nice man above has given us an overview of where we are with current technology and who is using what these days. What we need now is an insight into how to set up a safer home environment -

Keep it public. Try to make sure that all your internet

3. Email options for kids

11/2/2013

When it comes to children and the Internet, most parents focus on safe Web browsing which is understandable. But email can be a minefield as well. I hope that this quick guide will help you pick the most age-appropriate e-mail setup...
Anybody familiar with Gmail knows that it does a pretty good job of

4. Parental Controls

9/2/2013

Most parents and carers trust what their children are up to online, but it can be easy for children to stumble across things which might upset them. So filtering and moderating what comes into your home might be worth considering; this should stop the majority of inappropriate and harmful content.
There are three ways to apply parental controls:

5. Social media for kids - facebook

8/2/2013

First and foremost - social media is here to stay. If you have kids, they have grown up (or are growing up) with this and it is part of their world. Even us oldies are getting used to it and some of us even see the point of it.
Now that is NOT to say you need to rush out and bag your little darlings a Facebook page today - but plan and allow for social

6. Social Media for kids - the rest

7/2/2013

OK, so what of the rest?
Twitter
If you are under 13, don't bother. In fact, even when you're an adult, unless you have something really interesting to say a lot of the time, still don't bother . My personal opinion is that Twitter works best for people who have a lot of time to spend tweeting or for people who have exciting jobs or really interesting lives - so journalists, celebs, that sort of thing. Honestly, Twitter is a total time-vampire and if you cannot post

7. Gaming

6/2/2013

This is a tricky one - and for me, the hardest to monitor. Whilst you can Friend your offspring on social media and monitor their emails occasionally, gaming tends be a private world, a one-to-one relationship with fantasy - and that's always going to be an awkward conversation.
However, the risks of not addressing this are far greater, especially now that most games played by children are plugged into the internet. Of course, you can still buy games that are strictly CD-based, but that's rare these days.
Many games now run on an internet platform of some sort, while those that aren't (such as the games played on the XBox, Wii and Playstation) still offer numerous ways to connect with the internet via messaging, chat, links to social networks and purchasing special privileges.
Even those aimed at younger children like Club Penguin and Moshi Monsters, enable players to have an online profile and communicate with other players.
So the potential possibilities (and threats) of all internet interaction apply to gaming too, requiring us to use the same tactics -

checking the appropriateness of content (the game's age guidelines are issued through the Pan-European Gaming Information PEGI ratings).
checking to see if there is any advice with the game for parents and carers
even better, having a go at the game yourself with your child. Nothing beats first-hand information
locating the game console or computer in a family space where you can see what your kids are up to; not in your child’s bedroom
talking with your child about if he/she is communicating with someone else through the game and check the sort of language being used
setting parental controls on the games console (if you are using one) which allow you control things like what games can be played and how long your child can use the console for. Here are the Settings links for XBox, Playstation and Wii

There are also some great bits of advice about dealing with gaming at the CEOPS and Childnet websites, which are well worth a look.

I hope this series of articles has helped to identify some of the current issues, point towards some useful advice - and, most importantly, allay some of your concerns.

Remember, there is no need to fear the Internet.
Just learn (and teach) to use it wisely.

© Richard Lingard 2015