Discuss the dangers

Educating your child about the potential risks and dangers online is very important from an early age. Whether we like it or not the internet is now an important part of our lives and we shouldn't shy away from its potential dangers. Protecting our children is not about pretending that dangers don't exist.

One of the biggest mistakes that parents make is to introduce their child to early to a computer and the internet. Always wait until they are developed enough to understand the potential dangers.

Potential threats

• Solicitation by pedophiles
• Bullying and harassment
• Violent videos
• Pornographic images
• Viruses, spyware and malware
• Illegal downloads

Understand their internet usage

Its a good idea to take a keen interest in the website they are visiting. You should try and observe what they look at. If you feel that your child is purposely hiding what they are viewing online you may want to consider parental control software. While your child is online, the parental control software will record the websites they visit which you can then view at a later date.

Setting some rules

You should consider the types of websites your happy for your children to visit and how long they can spend on the internet.

Once you have discussed the dangers with your child, it can a good idea to create some rules. Here are our suggestions:

• Only use the computer once homework has been completed
• It's not acceptable to use offensive or threatening language
• Do not give out personal information
• Do not download software, music or images without permission

In a recent survey it was discovered that the majority of children who use peer-to-peer software were not aware that the material they were downloading was illegal.

Parental control software

Block specific websites, chat rooms and .

Cyber bullying

You should keep evidence of the emails, text or messages. These can then be shown to your child's school