Young children using online social networks, three-quarters of parents “spying” on them

It must be something about the school summer holidays that’s bringing out surveys about children and parents and their relationship with the Internet… and each other.

Not a week after a survey about parental knowledge of their children’s online activities comes another from Garlik.

This one suggests that 75% of parents are monitoring what their children get up to online without their knowledge, by logging in to their social networking accounts, or setting up their own profiles so that they can “spy” on their kids.

The survey of 1,000 children aged from 8-15, and 1,030 parents, also found that children as young as eight are visiting web sites which aren’t meant for under-12s, including the social network phenomena of Facebook, MySpace, and Bebo.

More worrying is that around two-thirds of children admitted to posting information that could help identify them individually, such as mobile phone numbers and where they go to school. One in five had even met up with people they’d only befriended online.

Garlik, a company involved in the prevention of online fraud and identity theft, said that web sites needed to do more to prevent underage children from accessing them. However, parents are also responsible for what their children get up to online, and while spying may seem a bit drastic, there are things families can do to minimise the risks.

(Via Pocket Lint)

“Stranger Danger in the 21st Century” - Internet dos and don’ts for parents and children

With five in six parents relying on verbal agreements with children on their use of the Internet, there’s a real need to educate both adults and children in the ways staying safer online.

Here’s a set of “Dos” for parents, and “Don’ts” for children, written by Sue Atkins of Positive Parents.

Do’s for Parents

Do: Talk to your child about how they use the internet. Encourage them to show you how they access the net and to talk to you about any concerns they may have regarding online chatting. Show an interest rather than point an accusatory finger of distrust at them. Your child will feel reassured and safe if you show a balance of respecting their way of communicating but keeping a watchful eye on what’s happening.

Do: Keep the computer in a public place in your home - if a predator sees a bustling living room or kitchen in the background on the webcam rather than just a quiet child’s bedroom, he will probably be less likely to embark on attempting to groom your child.

Do: Keep up to date with technology. Ask your child to teach you new things - they’ll enjoy spending time with you, and you’ll enjoy being with them too, but also know that you are keeping them safe in the process.

Do: Remind your child that any people they only know through the internet (and not in the real world) may not be who they say they are.

Do: Check the privacy settings covering their profiles online.

Do: Make it clear to your child that you will occasionally check what websites they are using and will also sometimes ask questions to make sure they know the people they are contacting.

Do: Remind your child that anything they post can be visible to the world.

Don’ts for Children

Don’t: post any personal information, e.g. e-mail address or mobile number on profiles.

Don’t: post anything online you don’t want the world to see.

Don’t: continue online conversations that make you feel uncomfortable or suspicious about whom you are talking to. Report these to the Child Protection Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) website via their ‘report abuse’ facility and talk to your parents or another adult whom you trust to help you.

Don’t: agree to meet anyone in person whom you only know via the internet.

Don’t: open any attachments or links if you don’t know (in the real world) the person who has sent them.

Don’t: use your real name in chat rooms - pick a nickname just to use online.

Don’t: assume that the people you are chatting to online are who they claim to be.

Don’t: keep any anxieties, worries or little niggles to yourself about approaches to you, or conversations you have had, online. Talk to your parents and/or an adult you trust. If not, you can call Childline.

Don’t: ‘accept’ strangers who ask to be ‘friends’ on your online profile - say NO or just ignore them. Don’t be tempted to say YES.

Don’t: agree if someone suggests keeping your chats a secret - tell your parents or a trusted adult.

Resources

NCH’s advice on internet safety
Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre
Think U Know: part of the CEOP site. Has pages specific to certain age groups to help them understand how to use the internet safely. Can also report abuse here.
Childline– - telephone 0800 1111

Parents failing to monitor children’s Internet usage, report finds

According to a recent survey from BroadbandChoices.co.uk, five out of six parents rely on verbal agreements to ensure their children use the Internet safely. That’s despite almost half of children using chatrooms (which, it has to be said, are not filled with paedophiles, but can still be dangerous if users aren’t careful), two in five using Facebook or MySpace, and half downloading software, music, or videos.

With the summer holidays here, children are likely to be spending more time in front of the computer, often unsupervised. This has implications not only for their safety, but also for how much the Internet broadband connection is being used.

With various measures coming into place regarding the illegal downloading of music and other material, in which the UK Government and Internet Service Providers would hold parents responsible for what their children download, parents could be letting themselves in for a shock.

Michael Phillips, Product Director, BroadbandChoices.co.uk, said, “We were surprised to learn that such a high proportion of parents heavily rely on verbal agreements to ensure their children’s online activities are safe and legal. Children are often more tech-savvy than their parents and the click of a mouse can take them anywhere. This research highlights the need for parents to be aware of the simple checks they can put in place to safeguard children who are increasingly using the internet to build new relationships.”

BroadbandChoices.co.uk recommends the following steps to help busy parents effectively monitor their child’s online activity:

1. Parental control software: Some ISPs like AOL and BT offer parental controls as part of their service, while other users can get them with their antivirus and security suites. Parental controls allow you to block certain sites and keywords, apply different settings for different age groups, and monitor your child’s online activity. You can also use the Messenger Plus! program to keep a log of conversations they might be having using Instant Messenger.

2. Education: Completely banning older children from the Internet is unlikely to stop them from using chatrooms and social networking sites, so instead, explain why they need to be careful on the Internet and make sure they know never to give out personal information or meet strangers without an adult around.

3. All on one PC: Keeping the family computer in the living room is a great way of ensuring that your children stay safe online. They’re far less likely to spend time in chatrooms or downloading illegally if their parents are in the same room. Also, make sure that you’re set as the administrator on any PC in the home, so that only you can change the settings on your parental control software.

4. Antivirus and firewall software: Using security software to protect your PC will also protect your child from spam emails with inappropriate content, and phishing emails where they could give out personal information including bank details.

5. Monitor downloads: If you’re concerned about the affect your children’s downloading is having on your monthly usage allowance, use a Download Monitor to keep an eye on downloads and set alarms to alert you when you near your limit.

BroadbandChoices.co.uk’s download monitor can be accessed at http://www.broadbandchoices.co.uk/broadband-download-monitor.html

Unique family-oriented broadband service offers peace of mind to schools and parents

A new broadband provider is about to hit the market with a product that will revolutionise online child safety.

Spidermail offers a trailblazing new service that surpasses parental control systems, which are vulnerable to unscrupulous websites and easily bypassed by increasingly tech-savvy children.

Where this innovative new service differs is that the state-of-the-art filters are built into the internet service and are centrally administered by Spidermail’s experts who constantly update the system 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Each family member is issued with a username and password upon signing up to Spidermail Broadband which they will use to access the internet.

This ensures your children will only have access to material that is appropriate for their age group.

But the service doesn’t restrict all your children to the same level and a 16-year-old will have greater freedom to explore than a 12-year-old.

It’’s not only safe, but fast too, with 8Mbps and unlimited content for £24.99 a month, including a free laptop with the 24 month contract.

Shahrokh Nikkhah, Chairman and CEO of Spidermail, said, “It is not easy for parents and teachers to ensure their children are unable to see inappropriate content online.

““But at the same time they want them to be able to take advantage of the incredible educational and entertainment options the internet provides.

““Spidermail offers a unique service that protects children at the very front line of the internet while allowing them to explore and grow online.

““We have had great feedback so far - everyone who uses us loves us.””

The company has already rolled their service out in schools across the West Midlands and Leicestershire and is set to add more throughout the region.

Spidermail

Child safety dependent on carers’ ability to hear

The Better Hearing Institute has implored parents to ensure that more elderly relatives who look after their children can hear well to ensure that their children remain safe.

“If your child’s babysitter is one of the 24 million people who need hearing aids and don’t have them, there could be serious problems,” warned Dr Sergei Kochkin, Executive Director of the BHI. “The risks of not hearing a smoke or carbon monoxide detector could be fatal, as they have been for some. Not hearing weather warnings could expose them, and your children, to a flood, tornado, or hurricane. Spending too much time speech reading while driving can cause a crash, as can failing to hear a siren.”

Read more

Five tips for keeping kids safe and healthy on way to school

The American Planning Association has come up with five things which parents can do as their kids return to school, to keep them both healthy and safe on the journey to and from school.

1. Conduct a “Neighbourhood Walk Audit” to inventory your neighbourhood’s sidewalks and bicycle routes and determine if they are safe.
2. Map out “Best Walking Routes” for your and other neighbourhood children to get to school.
3. Organize “Walking School Buses” in your neighbourhood so children can make the journey to school together with an adult.
4. Form a “Parent Eyes Group” enlisting parents along walking and biking routes to take turns being “eyes on the street.
5. Create a “Safe Routes to School Team” by bringing in all the interest groups that have a stake in encouraging kids to walk.

More information from the APA web site.

Parents believe their kids’ mobile phone use is “out of control”. Enter OmegoMobile

This post was first published at Tech Digest

Parents are increasingly concerned about their children’s use of mobile phones.

Research published today suggests that over four in five British parents (81%) are worried about their children being contacted by strangers, of having their mobile phone stolen, or being a victim of cyber-bullying. That’s despite 71% saying that the phone would be vital in the case of an emergency.

Conversely, 58% of children would hate to have their mobile phone taken way.

The research leads nicely to OmegoMobile, the mobile phone for kids which has been designed to address the concerns of parents.

Read more

Parenting expert releases top five summer safety tips for parents

Jennifer Trachtenberg, MD, renowned RealAge expert and author of Good Kids, Bad Habits: The RealAge Guide to Raising Healthy Children, has released her Top 5 Summer Safety Tips for Parents in conjunction with the Home Safety Council’s Home Safety Month, June 2007.

Accidents are still the leading cause of death in children. “Most accidents aren’t accidents at all,” explains Dr. Trachtenberg, chief pediatric officer for RealAge.com. “They happen because we overlook, underestimate, or ignore risky situations.” Surprisingly, most accidents happen to kids while under parental supervision, either in the evening or on weekends, and while on vacation — usually when the parent is relaxed.
Her top five tips are:

1. Wear a helmet: If there’s one piece of safety equipment to wear, it’s a helmet. Helmets can reduce the risk of head and brain injuries by 88%. Head injuries are the leading cause of bike-related deaths.
2. Learn to swim: Never leave a child up to the age of 5 alone by the water. Four-year-olds usually have the mind-body skills needed for formal swimming instruction and water-safety training.
3. Beware of balloons: A leading cause of death in children, make sure popped or uninflated balloons are out of children’s reach. If a child swallows an uninflated balloon, it takes the shape of the airway rather than moving down it like a solid object would.
4. Choking: For young kids, choking is one of the most common causes of accidental death. Teach your child the universal sign for choking. Common foods that can cause choking are spoonfuls of peanut butter, white bread, nuts, chunks of cheese, hot dogs, whole grapes, and popcorn.
5. iPoditis: To keep kids’ hearing sharp for years to come, noise researchers recommend limiting earbud use to no more than an hour a day and keeping the volume no higher than 90 decibels (about the loudness of a vacuum cleaner or lawn mower). You can download free software at apple.com that limits the volume on your child’s iPod.

RealAge.com

Little Helper Fun Pod: food, fun, and safety for toddlers in the kitchen

There are over 42,500 toddlers under the age of 5 who are taken to UK hospitals because of kitchen related accidents every year, and that number doesn’t take into account the thousands of minor accidents that are remedied by a cuddle and a bit of TLC.

The Little Helper Fun Pod™ is an innovative new product that not only keeps toddlers out of harm’s way but also encourages them to get involved in the kitchen.The Fun Pod provides the toddler with a safely constructed platform, enabling them to see what’s happening in the kitchen, being able to interact with their parents, but without any danger of toppling over. Read more

Parents get to understand MySpace and connect with their kids using myspacemykids.com

The MySpace MyKids project is a new user-friendly website designed to familiarize parents with social networking and help them protect their kids.

It’s a powerful educational program for parents who want to not only protect their children, but also better understand and connect with their teens.

Read more

European Union to set up dedicated “Missing Children” hotline

The EU has plans to set up a single telephone hotline number for the whole of Europe. The new number - 116000 - will be free of charge and is expected to launch this summer.

Whilst a number of the EU’s 27 member states already have their own systems in place, this is the first time a single union-wide scheme has been put in place.

Read more

Children’s advocacy group launches NetSmartz411 online safety programme for kids

NetSmartz411 is an online programme designed to keep children safe when online. It has been developed in the US by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) who can answer frequently asked questions about Internet safety and online security.

“Parents and guardians have a very tough job keeping up with their children in this ever changing world of technology,” said Ernie Allen, NCMEC president and chief executive officer.

Read more