Vigilance crucial to keeping children safe online

THERE is no foolproof way of allowing children to use the internet and keep them safe from predatory paedophiles.

Across the world these chat rooms and social networking sites are targeted by people looking to coax children into inappropriate situations.

The most important thing parents can do to protect their children is to be aware of the dangers and keep talking about how to use the internet safely.

Tell children about the risks and ask them what they are looking at while they are online.

Parents should encourage children to report times when they feel uncomfortable about something said to them online.

A range of parental control software programmes are available for less than 40.

The most popular brands are CyberSieve, SoftForYou and Chronager, which have all released up-to-date programmes in the past month.

Each programme is different. However, most monitor usage, allow parents to access their children’s internet records and block access to harmful sites.

There are different types of internet sites young people use, the most popular allowing them to keep in touch with friends.

There are closed networking facilities like MSN or ICQ which keep discussions within small groups and have no permanent online presence.

These are different from social network sites like Bebo or Myspace, which give children a personal website.

When using these or any other online chatting sites children should never engage with anonymous people.

If children have Bebo or MySpace sites, parents should get them to install protection so only people they trust can access their details.

Children should not give out personal information or arrange to meet with people they met on the internet.

Parents should check phone bills to see when the internet was being used.

They should keep a close eye on their credit card bills for transactions with no corresponding charge, this is the method used by adult-only sites to verify a person is over 18.

The household computer should be put somewhere where parents can give passive supervision rather than children being left alone in rooms while online.

Computers should be password protected so they can only be used with permission.