Here at Penponds we take online safety extremely seriously.
It can all be a bit of a minefield, both in keeping up with your child's IT habits and skills and navigating what's appropriate and what's not on the great world wide web. We thought a few pointers might come in useful for our parents so below is a wealth of info which we will of course keep regularly updated.
Research in America has identified potential warning signs for children with obsessive internet use as detailed in brief below.
- Loses track of time while online
- Sacrifices needed hours of sleep to spend time online
- Becomes agitated or angry when online time is interrupted
- Becomes irritable if not allowed to access the internet
- Prefers to spend time online rather than with friends or family
Five things parents should consider when buying games consoles:
- Age appropriateness: some games consoles have a greater number of games suitable for younger children - Nintendo, 3DS and Wii U
- Online purchases: prevent children from accidentally buying a game or spending money through in-game purchasing
- Multiplayer networks: use parental controls settings to avoid children playing against people they don't know
- Parental controls: set up parent controls straight away to ensure your child doesn't access inappropriate content
- Standby mode: turn devices off so that they do not remain connected to the internet and download content when they are not in use
iPhones & Apps
As more and more children of primary age have access to smartphones, or even own their own, being savvy on the latest social networking sites is crucial to protect your child from inappropriate material for their age group.
Vine is a social networking App that allows you to share 6 second videos that play on a loop. You can also repost videos created by others and leave comments. THIS IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 15 YEARS.
Keek is a social networking App that allows you to share 36 second videos and you can log in using Facebook, Google and Twitter. THIS IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 15 YEARS.
We've pulled together some useful links below for parents to help support their child using an Android or iPhone safely and responsibly. Remember you can also contact your mobile provider for further advice and information about parental controls.
