TIPS FOR PARENTS 2024
Here are some basic points to help keep your children safe online:
Use some of the resources on my website, www.internetsafetyconsultancy@gmail.com. Also, you can use the webwise site, www.webwise.ie. This site is part of the Safer Internet Ireland Consortium and partners with the ISPCC, Childline Hotline and the National Parents’ Council (NPC).
VPN Mentor: Fostering online communication between children and parents/guardians:
https://www.vpnmentor.com/blog/the-ultimate-parent-guide-for-child-internet/.
Office for Internet Safety: Confidential reporting for illegal content on the Internet in Ireland. It oversees the Garda Blocking Initiative.Report illegal content, using www.hotline.ie.
Be part of your children’s online life. It is important that parents work collaboratively with their children to keep them safe online. We all make mistakes in life and it is essential that if children are harassed, or become the victims of cyber bullies, that they feel confident that they can tell you what has happened, so that the matter can be resolved.
A friend is actually someone that they know. Many children have fallen into the trap of using the term ‘online friends’, even though they do not know these people.
Online Cyber Bullying: Legal Actions:
If your child is abused or harassed online remember to get a screen shot, block and write a report. Give the evidence to the Gardaí. The Non-Fatal Offenses Against the Person Act 1997, is used successfully in many such cases in Ireland, as well as Coco’s Law 2021.
Former Arsenal player Ian Wright was sent crass and racist messages by a Kerry student, after he lost a Fifa game on PlayStation. The third level student admitted harassing Mr. Wright on May 11th 2020, contrary to the Non-Fatal Offenses Against the Person Act 1997. The student got a conviction, but did not receive a prison sentence.
Mobile Phone Options
No mobile phones, while attending primary school.
Only allow students to have a mobile that can make and receive calls and
texts.
Check the phone regularly for offensive texts and messages.
Install filtering software to protect your children.
Creation of a secure password (use upper case and lower-case letters including numbers) and a long password, such as a line from a poem.
Insist that the children never give their password to anybody else. This seems obvious, but many children share their passwords with their friends.
Advise children to never give anybody their name, date of birth, school name, or where they live.
Remind the children to never arrange to meet up with strangers, and remember to only connect with people they know in real life, after consulting with their parents/guardians.
Games
Know which games your children are playing.
Set their profile to private.
Monitor their interaction with others and check the age limit for users.
Adjust the privacy and parental controls accordingly.
Remember to visit the Settings of sites and devices and ensure that the Privacy Settings are set up to ensure that 'friends of friends' cannot tag onto their profile. This is often where predators lurk.
Online Safety Commissioner: Niamh Hodnett.
Comisiún na Meán: Executative Chairperson, Jeremy Godfrey.
www.cnam.ie
Keep all computer and phone devices out of the bedroom when your children are going to sleep, as this technology leads to sleep problems.