Keeping your children safe on the internet survey and your top tips

[CarrieMumsnet]

To coincide with Safer internet day we've launched a survey to find out how parents tackle the tricky issue of their children's internet use, with the aim of producing a Mumsnet how-to guide on how we can all ensure safe surfing.

Please (pretty please) take the survey here and give yourself the chance of winning a fab Siblu holiday

and then (pretty pretty please) post your top tips on how you keep your children safe when they use the internet on this thread

Big thanks

MNHQ

Site the computer in a room where adults will walk past or have good sight of the screen.

Pctattletale - I swear by it. See it less as spying on them, more as keeping them safe. I stopped a potentially dangerous situation developing on msn with a stranger my ds1 was talking to. I can't recommend it enough.

Use profile managers to limit the access to computer controls available to your children (and ideally your DH to prevent him breaking them ). This prevents the kids from deleting the history or turning off security measures.

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Have you done this yet?

TIA

Trouble is my ds knows more about computers than me he wanted to change something on dp's computer and didn't have the password, but he still managed to get in lol (he is 18 and a sensible lad so can't worry too much)

OFGS you lot are rubbish at this - think Olivia should give me the prize!

Another one - if you are locking down your system, use alphanumeric passwords which means something to you, but not to your children (expletives are good): for example, use

bl00dypa55w0rd - your kids will never get it. You will be able to remember it (as long as you remember which numbers equal letters).

It doesn't matter what password you use, if you know how computers work, you don't need a password.

Which brings me right onto: always try and learn a little bit about computers, there are some brilliant books out there and it's really not that hard. Mumsnetters are a brilliantly intelligent bunch, you could all learn the basics in a matter of hours and then you aren't reliant on a seven year old to 'fix the Internet' for you

What my son does with computers is nothing to do with basics and I know quite a lot about computers

Dh has made himself the Administrator on DD's computer and she is just a user, which means she has to run pretty much everything past him! I can't even get on here on her PC! She only has 2 websites that she is allowed to use at any time, anything else she gets a message sayng refer to your administrator! DH has also locked her PC to switch off (and on) automatically at different times of day. So, school days he has set it to switch off at 7pm, but Fridays and Saturdays she has until 10pm.

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No internet in their rooms, they are too little IMHO - aged 9 and 7.

If they get heir own access then I will add loads of security measures

Olivia... surely I've mentioned that I have 5 children????????????????

tsk tsk. Be off to maternity leave with you!

Don't use the internet as a TV /child minding substitute.
Use the parental controls on your computer.
MSn is minefield and one into which only the hardiest of souls should go. Even the most mature, sensible kids can be quite dumb when it comes to forwarded messages.
Remember that these kids have been brought up with the internet and often assume it is flawless and harmless. They need a healthy amount of cynicism.
Potential employers apparently now routinely search youtube etc for prospective employees..

Dh went to a superb seminar by some psychologist on the whole safetly on the internet issue and had some horror tales to tell. Trouble is he has a memory like a sieve so ...

DS (8) has his own e-mail account, but anything in it is copied into both DH's and my accounts - mostly so we can emind him to check it if he gets mail, but also so we can keep a weather eye.

and, as others have said, keep the computer in a family room and shoulder surf. DS knows which websites are allowed, and does not go onto any others without me being with him...I am usually in the room anyway!

Agree with your kids that there is a 'no blame' rule. If they do something they shouldn't and either break the computer or get into trouble, providing they tell you, you will just deal with it without yelling. If they know they can say 'someone said something horrible to me in a chatroom' without you freaking out about them being there in the first place, you've more chance of nipping problems in the bud.

Oh and keep your kids off Mumsnet! Lest they read what we have been saying about then

Realise I have made a lot of assumptions. We talk about internet safety and have the computer in a family place. The children ask me every time they are asked any questions or to give any details, for example on Runescape, and what they should say. But having read all the above I feel much more needs to be done. I'll be reading and printing this.

My ds is only young so all access is still fully supervised, so am reading all you tips for future advice

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Don't you want to win a holiday?

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