It is important to remember that although the use of Online Media such as Apps,
videos and educational games is both entertaining and beneficial to children’s learning,
we must remember that the internet is not always safe especially if the app or game
being used has a chat function.
Last year I asked a group of students if their parents let them walk around Carindale
shopping centre alone and they were quite emphatic with their response of, “No!” and
disbelief that they would ever be able to do that. Yet when I asked if they went onto the
internet with things like Youtube or gaming online, many of them said they did which
is perfectly normal. The problem was that many of their parents did not know what
they were watching or, more alarmingly, who they were chatting with online.
While your children use online tools at home, it is important to ensure they are
practising safe habits online. As parents, you can help to instil good habits of respect,
empathy, critical thinking and safe, responsible behaviour when children are using
online resources.
The following tips from the eSafety Commissioner gives some great ideas for keeping
your child safe online:
- Be Engaged with your child’s internet use. Keep the use of devices restricted to an
area of your home where it can be supervised. Share some online time with your child
and talk about what they are doing online. Keep the lines of communication open.
- Encourage safe and responsible behaviour by working to achieve a healthy
balance between your child’s online and offline activities. Set boundaries for digital
device use in your home. Make sure any online media your child is using is set to the
strongest privacy settings and teach your child to avoid clicking on pop-up ads on
websites. At night, charge devices in a central area of your home rather than in your
child’s bedroom.
- Use Parental Controls available on your home Wi-Fi, individual devices, streaming
services, software and web browsers to help protect your children online. These controls
can often be used to block, filter, monitor or set time limits online.
- Promote respectful communication by encouraging your child to use the same
positive manners and behaviour as they would offline. If it’s not ok to do or say
something face to face, then it’s not ok online.
- Encourage empathy by helping your child to imagine being in someone else’s shoes
so they can relate to diverse opinions and understand what might make people behave
in different ways.
- Teach them to question by encouraging your child to think critically about what
they see online. Talk to them about ‘fake news’ and the importance of checking news
sources. Remind them to be careful when making new friends online as people may not
be who they say they are. It is especially important to alert your child to the dangers of
meeting someone in person that they have been talking to online.
If you would like further information about online safety, have a look at these valuable
websites:
