[back to "Internet Safety"]
The Highland E-Safety Group provide the following helpful guidance and links to useful web resources for Parents and Carers.
- Keep the benefits of the internet in mind above all else.
- Install ‘spybot’ to search for unwanted programs on the home PC.
- Be careful what sites you as an adult visit if your children use the same computer.
- Set your web browser to block popups.
- Talk about what to do if a child sees something they don't like, this may be blocking someone or using the ‘Report Abuse’ button on the www.thinkuknow.co.uk website.
- Teach them to be critical of content on the web, who is it for?
- Use child-friendly search engines - for example use a safe search engine within Google to prevent unsafe images appearing.
- Use your browser tools to enable the history of the sites that have been looked at and spot check the sites your child has looked at every now and again.
- Remind your child who they can talk to if they are embarrassed about what they have found.
- Encourage a balanced use of activities such as MSN or social networking sites, switch off after a certain time, but realise some web-enabled mobiles can be used if you have a WiFi connection in the home or 3G connection - so extend the turning off to include mobile phones.
- Keep a family PC in a safer location, laptops and wireless are much more common nowadays. Apply control settings and virus tools.
- Make your child aware of the consequences of giving out personal information. Have a family understanding about personal information about self and others
- Illegally downloading from sites is not only breaking the law, it can lead to accessing files containing unpleasant pictures.
- Remind children to NEVER arrange to meet someone who they have met online, because you never know if that person really is who they say they are. If they must meet someone, always make sure that you agree and go with them.
- It’s never too late to report something and no-one will judge your child or you.