While there may be unsuitable content (and characters) on the web, it's not hard to protect youngsters from the potential dangers. Read on to find out how to give children the freedom to surf without worrying about the consequences
Happy families: follow our top tips for a stress-free time online. Photograph: Michael A. Keller/Corbis
Two years ago child psychologist Dr Tanya Byron, perhaps best known for her BBC series House of Tiny Tearaways, was asked by the prime minister to put together an independent review looking at the risks to children from exposure to the internet and video games.
When the report was published last year she noted that there exists a "generational digital divide which means parents do not necessarily feel equipped to help their children in this space". This is coupled with a "risk-averse culture where we are inclined to keep our children 'indoors' despite their developmental needs to socialise and take risks".
So how can we look after our children in a (cyber)space we understand less well than they do? And how can we overcome understandable, if sometimes misplaced, fears about the threats so we can let our children thrive online while keeping them away from danger? The starting point is to understand those risks.
The threats
"The
nature of the threat is changing," says David Miles, European director
of the Family Online Safety Institute (Fosi), an industry body that
represents some of the biggest names in technology. "Two years ago we
were dealing with a search-oriented culture that was adult dominated.
Now we are in a world of user-generated content, it's no longer an
adult-only environment."
In short it's all about content and contact.
Some subject areas are clearly going to be unsuitable for your child, most obviously extreme violence and sexually explicit material. But other topics, such as drugs, are likely to be age-inappropriate too.
Meanwhile, there is no doubt that the explosion of social networking sites such as Bebo and MySpace has made the issue of contact more complex. Where email was a relatively closed community, social networks are web-wide.
This in turn leaves youngsters potentially open to identity theft, malicious impersonation, online predators, and either being the victim - or perpetrator – of cyber bullying.
What to say
Good
communication between parent and child is critical. So says Carrie
Longton, co-founder of Mumsnet, the largest online network of parents
in the UK.
"There are some fantastic [software] products out there but it's just as much about traditional parenting - stranger danger, house rules, constant communication.
"These are the skills you've been using since your child was two and you had to stop him from putting his hand in the plug socket."
If you're worried your child is more internet-savvy than you are, she recommends countering your own lack of knowledge by getting your child to show you how the technology works.
"Get your child to talk you through how to set up a Bebo account. Ask them to create one for you and let them make fun of you. And along the way, you can learn about, and explain, the pitfalls."
Miles agrees that communication is a big part of addressing the problem but cautions against getting too close. Children need some sense of space and freedom online. "Some parents say: 'I'm going to open up a Facebook site and I want to be their first friend.' Oh, come on."
What to do
However
good a relationship you have with your kids and however hard you try to
teach them to behave responsibly, the nature of the web means they will
come across unsuitable content - and possibly unsavoury people. And as
a result software is going to play a part in their protection. There
are five broad categories.
First there is web filtering, which lets you vet website content. You can build up a blacklist of inappropriate sites and create a list of banned words and phrases. It is analogous, says Greg Day, principal security analyst at software maker McAfee, to cinema certification. "You wouldn't let your child see an 18 movie."
Program blocking controls what your child can and cannot download from the internet. There are small applications, for example, that could give over the control of your child's web cam. Day recommends coupling program blocking with anti-virus software "to make sure the thing I'm happy to download doesn't have something bad lurking within it".
Email filtering and blocking software allows you to censor certain kinds of content from your child's inbox as well as block email messages from unknown or unwelcome addresses. Parents will often want a sophisticated approach to content blocking which precludes their children from giving out such things as their mobile phone number or address.
Social networking/instant messaging filtering works in much the same way as the email filtering. Again certain words or phrases particular to your child's environment can be blocked.
Finally, there is video filtering which blocks inappropriate material from sites such as YouTube based on the descriptive text and category tags around the video clip in question.
Underlying all of this is a degree of monitoring. The software will generate reports about the type of sites your child has visited and potentially apply limits on the length of time your child can spend on the net. Instant alerts, sent by email, will notify parents of any attempts to access objectionable material.
These facilities, says Day, can be used to start a conversation with your children so they can understand why certain activity might lead to problems. They don't need to be seen as draconian measures.
But for some children such monitoring is a breach of trust. "You don't want to be shoulder surfing," accepts Day. But, he says, if they are doing something wrong or are being wronged you need to have the proof. "It's about visibility."
Beyond the software packages, there are some basic settings you can change on the software you already have on your PC. For example, there are some basic filtering tools in the most recent operating systems for the Windows PC and the Apple Mac - Vista and OS X Leopard - including time-limit settings, adjustable levels of site and application blocking and usage logging. There should be similar options on the internet browser you're using.
Similarly, popular search engines such as Google offer safe search preferences. Here you can use the 'strict filtering' options to exclude explicit text and images.
So with a combination of good old-fashioned conversation and high-tech software, it's perfectly possible to let your kids loose on the web without worrying about what they're up to.
Useful resources
McAfee has produced a couple of reports on internet safety (pdf) , including:
- A Parent's Guide to Social Networking Sites
- 10 Step Internet Safety Plan
More information on McAfee Family Protection software can be found here, while you can claim a 20% online discount here.
You might also like to check out these websites.
Directgov Guide to Internet Safety
Government website with information and advice on cyber bullying, online safety and illegal downloading.
Mumsnet Guide to Internet Safety
The
largest online network of parents in the UK offers online safety tips
and advice drawn from its community of over a million visitors a month.
Byron Review: Children and New Technology
Childcare
expert Dr Tanya Byron's review into risks to children from exposure to
potentially harmful or inappropriate material on the internet and in
video games.
Think You Know
Website
for kids from five to 16 - and their parents, carers and teachers -
explaining "what's good, what's not and what you can do about it".
Digizen.org
How
to be a proper digital citizen. Practical advice on social networking
and cyber bullying; you can even create your own online code of conduct
using the Digizen widget.
