Online Safety For Children

Online safety is important at all ages. Children need to be educated at an age and development-appropriate rate with controlled exposure to reduce the risk of inappropriate content, contact, conduct and contract.


Safety tips for kids

Never share personal information online (Parents should make sure their child understands what is personal information).

Don't respond to emails, texts, or messages from people they don't know.

Don't share or post photos online.

Don't click links, open attachments, or accept gifts from ANYONE online before checking with your parent/s.

Never meet someone you met online alone.

Get help from your parents or another trusted adult if you need it.


Staying Safe

Practical measures to keep children safe include parental controls, child-friendly search engines, a family media plan and privacy settings.

It's important to discuss with your child good online behaviour, what they can do if someone or something bothers them, go online with them and model safe internet use in your own activities.

Giving your child knowledge and good habits online will make it possible for you to trust and allow them to be responsible, in turns, they are more likely to come to you with online concerns.

The top online security risks that most kids face are:

• Cyberbullying. A cyberbully is anyone who engages in aggressive, threatening, or mean-spirited behaviour through the use of electronic communication (email, social media posts, text messages, etc.).


• Online predators. Online predators are adults who entice children online for sexual or other abusive exploitation.


• Inappropriate content. This can be anything from vulgar language and hate speech to graphically sexual or violent images and is most likely the most common risk that kids encounter.

How to keep your kids safe online

Have sufficiently high firewall, privacy and security settings.

Personal details should be guarded closely. Even for online learning, there is no need for a child's full name, address, phone number, birth date, or even photograph to be publicly available. They should have a username and secure password for classes and assignments.

Parental controls. These tools are built into devices and software and there are easily accessible tutorials online, to help you set these up.

Keeping devices updated is important as often these updates are to patch vulnerabilities or combat new threats. Also, outdated operating systems and old versions of software become obsolete and no longer supported, which can mean that the device is no longer compatible or able to run the software.


Protect your kids from cyberbullying

• Know the risks: Educate your child on what cyberbullying is, how it happens, and how to spot it. Encourage your child to watch out for any interactions that make them feel scared, bad, or sad and that online bullies can start off friendly.


• Communication: Do not stop at one conversation but regularly talk about what cyberbullying is and what types of communication are acceptable and unacceptable. You should make sure your child knows it is safe to talk to you if something bothers them.


• Monitor: Monitor the amount of time spent on the computer and keep it in a common room. You should share an email account with your kids, and you should have full control over their social media accounts if you allow them to use them. Software that allows parents to keep an eye on their children is another great option. Of course, as your child ages your control should relax as too much restriction can cause a child to find ways around it.


• Boundaries: Have reasonable time limits on screen time. Make sure all online activities are included, including homework, games, and browsing the web. Make sure social media and email accounts are restricted, and instant messaging and texting are subject to rules. Ensure your kids know you'll be checking in regularly. As mentioned above, Your child's boundaries may need to be renegotiated as he or she grows or adapts to new technology.


• Build a network (IRL): Get to know your child's friends and their parents so you can enlist their help. With others around your child, they can inform you of anything concerning your child may not pick up on, considers safe, or for whatever reason not feel comfortable coming to you, such as embarrassment at getting themselves into a situation when they should know better, or over-confidence in their ability to handle it on their own.


• Have an action plan: You should research and prepare yourself on how to respond to avoid rash, emotional decisions and to help your child handle their feelings and what they're going through.

Steps to take if your child has been bullied

• Be attentive: pay attention and look out for signs of cyberbullying, such as emotional responses to online interactions, and seclusion or sadness, hiding the screen, and spending more time online or texting.


• Be gentle: ask your child about what's happening, their feelings and any responses, calmly with no judgement.


• Acknowledge their feelings: Let your child know whatever they are feeling is okay.


• Block the bully: Block, unfollow and/or unfriend the bully immediately. You can use privacy settings, site blockers or similar tools for extra protection.


• Report: Alert the platform, website and/or email admins about the bully. A quick search of most social media platforms will reveal how to report a user or flag inappropriate/dangerous posts. It may also be appropriate to report the activity to school or law enforcement officials.


• Recovery: If the above protective measures are not enough to calm your child's emotional state, seek professional help.


• Build up defences: To protect your child, speak to other adults who can help (teachers, other parents, coaches, school administrators, etc.) and encourage your child to spend time with friends and build positive friendships.

What to do If your child is the bully

Keep an eye on your child's online activity. If they create new social media accounts or emails without your knowledge, start to hide their online activity, or make mocking, scornful, derisive or other negative comments online, they could be picking on someone.

Bullies are usually trying to deal with their own emotional pain so approach the subject gently and allow them time and room to answer. Try not to blame or get angry.

Tighten or establish control of your child's online activity.

Guide and support your child through their feelings and the true cause of their behaviour, this may require professional help. Try to help them think about how their victim/s may be feeling and encourage and help them to apologise. Be prepared to discuss possible negative reactions.


How to protect your kids from online predators

Inform yourself about what online predators are and how to identify them. Discourage your child from communicating with strangers online.

Talk to your child about what types of online interactions are inappropriate, how to recognise red flags and how to ask for help.

Restrict the upload and download of images on every device so that it requires your permission.

Monitor the amount of time spent on the computer and keep it in a common room. You should share an email account with your kids, have full control of and/or access to their social media accounts if you allow them to use them, and use parental controls, such as apps and filters.

Restrict access to inappropriate apps and websites. Talk about the risks of social networks and chat rooms.

Understand that there are no truly "safe" places online that do not need to be monitored. Kid-focused games, chat rooms, and websites can attract predators who pose as children.


Steps to take if your child has been targeted online

• Make sure your child knows it's not their fault.


• Stop communication with the predator.


• Change online credentials, such as usernames, passwords, display/screen names.


• Make copies and screenshots of the interactions with the predator and report the activity to law enforcement and website admins.


• If required, seek professional help.
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