Internet Safety Tips

Many parents are worried about letting their child use the internet. On the LearnEnglish Kids website we take child protection very seriously. Only children can comment on the site and all comments are checked before we publish them. Below you will find some tips to help your child use computers and the internet safely.

• Keep your computer in a family room or an open space where you can watch what your child is doing, and can control how long your child is on the computer.
• Spending a long time on the computer may cause headaches, eyestrain or other physical problems. Make sure that your child doesn't spend too long in front of a computer screen each day.
• If you or your child comes across unsuitable material in an email, advert or website, then contact your Internet Service Provider.
• Make sure that your child does not give personal information over the web (name, age, address, telephone number). Teach your child to ask you first. Check that sites have privacy policies if you do send details. On our website we do not post comments which have personal details (such as surname or name of school) to ensure our users can not be identified.
• Make sure that your child asks your permission before entering any competitions or downloading any materials.
• Make sure that your child does not post any photos of himself/herself on the web.
• Teach your child not to click on links in emails, unless they know who the email is from.
• If your child wants to use a chatroom, make sure that you have a look at it first. Be around when your child is chatting.
• Teach your child not to make arrangements to meet anyone that they have met on the web. If they do meet somebody, an adult should be with them and the meeting should be in a public place.
• Make sure that your child keeps their internet passwords a secret.
• Teach your child to tell you if they see anything that they think is suspicious or that they don't like.
• Write a list of rules and guidelines for using the computer and internet. Show them to your child, and make sure your child understands why there are rules. Stick the rules up next to the computer.

Further reading:

Here are some useful Internet safety websites:

www.kidsmart.org.uk

www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/help/web/staysafe