Tell NSPCC about the family rules you have to keep safe online - chance to win a £300 voucher NOW CLOSED

[AmeliaMumsnet]

NSPCC have teamed up with O2 to launch their #ShareAware campaign. Here’s what they have to say: ‘We tell our children to share, but online it’s different. In fact, sometimes sharing online can be dangerous. That’s why we’ve joined forces with O2 to ask parents to be Share Aware and keep children safe online. With the internet changing all the time it can be hard to keep up to date but our Net Aware guide gives an overview of the sites young people use. . Our straightforward, no-nonsense advice will untangle the web, and show you how you can be just as great a parent online as you are the rest of the time.’

As a parent, your main priority is to keep your self and your family safe, and this means agreeing on some rules for when you’re surfing the web, for both you and your child. As part of their #ShareAware campaign to keep children safe online, NSPCC and O2 want to know about the family agreements you have in place to make sure you and your DC stay out of trouble - the family contracts you have in place within your home to help things run smoothly.

So, maybe you always make sure there’s an adult present when your DC is online or have you agreed to not share images of your child without their permission? Perhaps no one is allowed on their phones at the table. Every family has a set of rules that works for them, so post on this thread to tell NSPCC and O2 about your family agreements and you’ll be entered into a prize draw to win a £300 voucher of your choice (from a list).

For more information, or to download your family agreement template, visit Share Aware
here to download your family online agreement template.

Thanks so much for taking part, and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply.

We don't allow anyone to use their phones when we're having dinner, either at home or out. When we're out the kids can use their phones after everyone has finished.

We encourage openess and honesty, not just online but in 'real life' too. We limit access to social media and will insist on being 'present' on their accounts.

My older children are grown up now but I have one daughter much younger than her sisters who is still a teenager at home. When the older ones were small, controls and advice were woefully lacking and I did rely alot on advice from their school which was very proactive and I gave them lectures about not giving out info and people not necessarily being who they claim to be etc. They are now so much more savvy than me and they do alot to help keep their younger sister safe by passing on safety tips. We have rules about what social media sites she can and cannot visit and join and anywhere new gets vetted by us before she is allowed to visit or sign up. Also I worry about cyber bullying and we encourage lots of discussions following stories about this sort of thing when they appear in the media. I do think there is alot of good advice around that parents can access now. I think its mainly about continuing to keep talking and encouraging our children to talk to us so they feel they can come to us and tell us anything. The internet and social media is evolving at such a fast rate and as it does the dangers evolve with it so I think we need to make sure we don't become complacent but are always re-educating ourselves as to all the things we need to do to keep our children safe. I think this NSPCC initiative is a really positive step for children in the community.

I just try to be open about safewith my young children, and emphasise they mustn't go with anyone that we haven't told them they can.

I've shown them a few video clips about stranger danger.

Mine are 6,8 and 10

They aren't allowed thier tablets in their rooms at night time

We have the internet locked down pretty tightly, can't even access sites like the sun, Ann summers.

They have had it drummed into them that you never give any personal info on the internet and if they want to write something on the internet e.g. Lego forum, they must show us before they post.

If anyone tries to contact them/make friends etc they always tell us or just reject the request. (On things like Skype which they have for when they stay at MILs so they can call/message us)

They have email addresses and all messages received/sent also gets sent to DHs email so he can monitor everything in real time.

Firstly, we have parental controls installed, and ensure we do not leave children unsupervised when on the computer.
Beyond that, we warn never to give out personal details (name, address, date of birth, etc.) and never to upload any personal photographs.
And to always report to us of ANYTHING dodgy immediately. (Children are sensible enough, and can be trusted, to instantly close any pages containing inappropriate material.)

Internet only on at specified times, no phones at the meal table

Our girls can only go onto the apps we have installed and we are always talking about the dangers, but also they know we love our tablets and pc as its the only way we can really keep in touch with some family members, so they know that there are positive and negatives to being online. My boys are old enough to do as they wish really. I trust my sons, and as they are 16 and 18, and we are extremely candid about what they can view online...however, they know to be careful, and as they share a room I feel more relaxed about what they view. They know their computer can be checked at any point, but they are given the freedom now, as I believe them both to be very well educated on the safety aspects.
We do have a deal that no pictures are shared online without the others consent, especially mine, mainly because I have a large bottom and I would like people I haven't seen for years to think that my posterior is still superior! lol. x

My son has a tablet with good kid security (Kindle Fire). If he's on the iPad he can use Youtube kids but not regular Youtube. If he's on my computer he must have supervision (he's six).

DS1 could disable parental controls within minutes from the age of about 8, so parental controls have never really been an option in our house. We used all the latest controls and spent a fortune buying new ones every time he managed to get passed them. In the end we just gave up. He also manged to get round the school's internet security, even after they realised he's done it and tightened it up, he just did it again. He always promised that he wasn't interested in doing anything inappropriate on the net, he was just determined to get round the controls. He's a computer scientist now!

Instead, we taught them never to give out any information that could identify them in any way eg name, school, area, pictures etc and never, ever meet up with someone from the internet. We also taught them to alert us if they approached from anyone they didn't know online etc.

This worked really well until late teens until they start to think that children's rules don't apply any more and we were horrified to discover that DS2 had put himself in real danger by sneaking off to meet someone. It turned out fine, but that was due to luck more than anything else. We really thought we had this under control until this happened and it shocked us to the core.

I'm really not sure how parents can avoid this. We thought we had taught them well, they were too old for controls anyway (even if they had worked effectively against DS1!) and in every other sense DS2 is a competely sensible boy.

I do think it should be highlighted that older children are also in danger from the internet, not just younger children. In fact, possibly more so, as they have more freedom to actually meet up with potential predators.

Our DC are 7 and 9, they do not have internet access on their iPad minis and they only time they can access the internet is using the computer in the hall when we are around to supervise them. They are aware about keeping safe online but they are not old enough to search independently.

I have tight parental controls on my 6 year old son's tablet, and he isn't allowed to download any new games without permission. He does go on YouTube but only if we are keeping an eye on what he is watching. He isn't allowed the chat features on any of his games on his tablet or Xbox, and isn't allowed to play Minecraft online.

My two oldest boys are allowed online, but never, ever allowed to give out any personal information at all, they're not allowed to friend anyone that they don't know in real life on online games and all electronics are switched off by 7pm to give their brains time to wind down before bed.

No one is allowed to use their phones etc at the table and we all leave our phones in the kitchen from 7pm to be charged (no overnight distractions). We also all know everyone's passwords to phones etc, so there's no super secrecy about them. My husband and I share our phones frequently with the children so it is normal for them to share theirs with us.

I always ask their permission before I post their photos online.

They are not allowed to access content that is inappropriate for their age.

We have a list of agreed youtubers they can watch, and requests for new ones have to be watched with an adult first.

They know that they will not be in trouble for talking to us about things that happen online. My eldest had some trouble with other people changing the name of a WhatsApp group to something derogatory about a girl in their class and came straight to me about it, meaning I could help him leave the group, but also prompted a good conversation about why such comments are so hateful.

One really useful rule in the morning is that they are allowed on electronics once they are ready for school and completed all their morning chores - it's quite a motivator!!

My DD is 7 years old. She has not got her own device but she is allowed to borrowed ours to use certain app or go on particular (child appropriate) websites whilst supervised (in living room). She has agreed that if she sees anything that make her uncomfortable or just doesn't seem right she is to tell a grown up. She is not allowed to use websites with a chat function.

All 4 of my children have access to tablets - they only have youtube kids app and no social media is allowed as theyre all under 12 - We also put a timer on the younger twos so it will turn off if they go over a certain time. In school holidays the rules of the house are- you must read a book/part of a book , play outside (weather permitting), do something crafty, help mum or dad with housework then you can have your device for the rest of the day - and that works for us

Hello. Well, I think that technology can be an amazing thing and I simply prefer to educate my daughters on the correct use of technology.I have 2 daughters (7 and 10 years old) and I don't let my daughters go on any device without supervision.I find that parental controls help to ease my anxiety around the subject.

I have been trying to raise awareness about, parents who have no idea what their children are doing online. I have done some research studies and the results were shocking. I'm very strict about my children going online. I have put rules in place from day one. I only let them play on games consoles on Friday after school, up until Sunday afternoon. I limit them to 1 hour each of playtime on the consoles. I also don't let my children sit in their bedrooms. I think bedrooms should only be used for sleeping and not an escape route for children to get up to whatever they want. I have and would never allow my children to have televisions, computers, consoles or any kind of technology in their bedrooms. I keep all the rechargers in front of me, so every night my children automatically put their phones or tablets on charge, and get to bed. I have used all the settings and parent control features on their phones and tablets, I have even set up the family sharing. So my children have never even tried to access content that's inappropriate or explicit.

We had an Incident once, when my youngest son let his friend borrow his phone for one night. Unfortunately the friend had been asking for very inappropriate comments and pictures from other girls who go to the same school as my son. The worst part was that all of the content was showing up on his dad's phone, due to the settings that I had put in place. I was extremely furious with the sight of the content, and these children are only 12-13 years old. I alerted their parents and the school. We then had to explain the dangers and potential consequences of lending your personal belongings to anyone, for example, in the event of a crime taking place and his phone is used to record the incident? My children were really shook up by this thought. They are always responsible with their online activities. I have made it very clear to them that they must never give out any personal information on social media or if anyone asks for it. I think routine is a very big key point to control your child's online activities and you have to stick with your rules no matter what.

Our 13 year old daughter has had the following rules with social media (Instagram and snapchat) since the day she got them: never post photos of other people without their permission. Never post anything you would not want a) your Headmaster and b) parents to see. Its kept her safe and steady in a storm of social media dramas at school.

Also, we have an open door policy (both ways): we can ask to see her phone and computer any time and she has them only on condition that she lets us. In return, we rarely ask and always explain why we're asking when we do. She has recently told me she really appreciates the two way trust.

Our younger daughter (10) is allowed to watch YouTube videos, but we are allowed to check her history and ask her about what she watches. She has to watch downstairs, not in her room alone.

No screens for anyone upstairs after 9pm.

So far so good, fingers crossed!

My little one isn't into technology yet (aside from pinching my phone to watch endless peppa pig. sigh) BUT as he gets older he won't be allowed on the internet without close parental monitoring and online settings

My DS does not go on any form of application unattended, and he rarely goes on any anyway. We have specific apps for him to play on, most being educational. I wouldn't let him go on on his own, as he would end up buying things in error I think! so the ipad goes into airplane mode when hes on it!

My two are teenagers but still we need rules. No phones at dinner or during film night, no-one you don't know personally on social media and our IP is blocked for adult content.

We use parental controls and regularly check what they have been doing online and also we around when the kids are online.

We have dodgy sites blocked for us all. Beyond that it is a case of talking to the kids about being sensible who they communicate with online (i.e. only people they know in real life and not to give out ANY personal information). Also all devices are kept downstairs so that they are used with other family members around so we can keep an eye on things.

the majority on the tablet and laptop is password protected so they need help before they can move on to something different. Although we have the rule that they have to say what they are doing so they can't stray off track.

I have parental controls on the tablet my daughter uses and she knows she can only go on it if we are there. Luckily she is too young to do much but I do worry about future use and have picked up some good safety ideas from.this post