Safe Browsing

Just being able to use the internet does certainly not mean that your child has the maturity or experience to handle everything they might find there.

Talk to your child about safe surfing, and point them to some child-safe sites.

Make sure your browser is set to offer you its built-in security, safety and privacy features and search engines filter out results that contain potentially harmful content such as sexually explicit images, racist content and material on eating disorders and self-harming.

Without such controls, your child will almost certainly run into something that really isn’t appropriate for their age … or any age.

If you find that your child has been looking at or exposed to such content, do not assume that it was idle curiosity and talk through why it’s not a good thing. Talk to him or her about the kind of websites they look at. Encourage them to speak to you if they come across something they find worrying or upsetting on websites, games or while social networking.