# internet safety for children (and us!)



## Georges Mum (Aug 12, 2008)

We had training at school for the children year 6 abut internet safety. It was presented by the police. It was good. I wanted to tell you about the site:

Thinkuknow - home

It is a site about how to be safe and they can also report any problem /abuse they are worried about.

It explains how they can say no if they have a person trying to meet up with them etc etc but anyway i wanted to just alert you to it.


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## Guest (Apr 2, 2009)

Georges Mum said:


> We had training at school for the children year 6 abut internet safety. It was presented by the police. It was good. I wanted to tell you about the site:
> 
> Thinkuknow - home
> 
> ...


I was really shocked watching the sex education show the other night when they said the sort of things teenagers were accessing.

Horrific


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## Georges Mum (Aug 12, 2008)

this is really important - it was quite a shock to hear some of the experiences some of the year 6(10 and 11 year olds) were having and quite how much they knew about 'life'. I want all the parents on here to see this site as it is FULL of useful info.


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## Fleur (Jul 19, 2008)

Great link - lots of info for kids and young adults and their parents.


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## Georges Mum (Aug 12, 2008)

Fleur said:


> Great link - lots of info for kids and young adults and their parents.


Can i make it clear it is also possible to REPORT abuse too so its a useful link point a bit like childline.


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## KarenHSmith (Apr 20, 2008)

Thanks for that. 

I have done the survey of one of them aswell

I have contacts on my msn, sending me numerous amount of Porn sites aswell  they are genuine people, but have their accounts hacked - which really gets on my nerves


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## Leena (Apr 12, 2009)

I have a related story... Sort of.

On my short story website I have a form where people could tell about someone they know that succeeded against the odds.

Immediately I got a message someone wanted to publish such a story. Eagerly I went to read it. Sounded good. A guy who got in to the military without college degree. And now travels lecturing others how they can be anything they want to be. There were two links in his post. The first one was on his own name, and it was "under construction".

The other link was to a book Myspace page. I saw the cover of the book and thought it looked a bit more... well, sexy to my tastes. I also looked at the comments on the Myspace site. All from women, and not very family friendly, so to speak.

I did a google search on his name and his company name that was mentioned in the article. I did not find it immediately, but after fifteen minutes of digging it turned out that guys company was an "adult entertainment film" company. I´m sure you all get what that means.

I know for a fact I have at least one child following me on Twitter. Even if I had left the links out of this story, people might be curious enough to try to search for him. Imagine if this child who follows me on Twitter would have done so? For example to do some school project? And landed on who-knows-what-kind of a page! If I had just accepted this article without checking, who knows what would have appeared on the "under construction" page!!

These folks are soooo sneaky to get their "message" across. Thank goodness I am a bit "paranoid" in checking the articles. How embarrassing if I had been a factor in sending a child to a (censored) page! Even the thought makes me feel sick!  

Leena


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## Marcia (Mar 10, 2009)

Great link. i'll pass that on to my boyfriend. He works at a primary school and the headmaster might be interested in that link.


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## LittleMissSunshine (Aug 31, 2008)

Thank You, I'll pass it on to my mum for her school.. It is sooooo scary what's out there now, when I was that age The most technical my childhood got was a skipping rope which counted the number of 'skips' then I was elated when I got an Acorn Electron and used to play repton!!!

What a sheltered life!!! I wish kids were still that innocent!!!:frown:


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## joykristel (Apr 24, 2009)

It's really good there are now educational stuff for the parents on how they can guard their kids while surfing the internet. There are lots of things that kids can see, they are really accessible. So parents should really be cautious for their kids.


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## RockRomantic (Apr 29, 2009)

hi there! sorry to go slightly of topic well it's not really going off topic but as i was reading what you put, i was thinking about letting my partners eldest son whos 10 go on my laptop, and was thinking am i being a bit irresponsible if i gave him a email address? and if i let him on the internet how could i monitor what he's doing without having to look over his shoulder?i'm not exactly good with computers


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## Georges Mum (Aug 12, 2008)

if you go on hotmail they have family safety - and believe me its very tight! You have authority on who emails and who doesn't basically and in the two years my daughter has had one it has not slipped up. Don't tell the child the password though. I would be more worried they will sign up themselves to the chat rooms as this is where all the problems are occuring. Keep the laptop in a public place and let him know you are watching him - its strict but it is the only way to keep them safe. I think there might be some good guidance on the site i posted by the police.


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## RockRomantic (Apr 29, 2009)

Has anyone else had problems with that link? My internet explorer has been screwing up recently so i dunno if it's just me :S


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## Georges Mum (Aug 12, 2008)

RockRomantic said:


> Has anyone else had problems with that link? My internet explorer has been screwing up recently so i dunno if it's just me :S


hi i get straight through on the link. No problems.


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## Maggi (Mar 20, 2009)

joykristel said:


> It's really good there are now educational stuff for the parents on how they can guard their kids while surfing the internet. There are lots of things that kids can see, they are really accessible. So parents should really be cautious for their kids.


Aren't we missing the point somewhat here?

As parents, we should be monitioring what our children have access to, rather than relying on networks etc to keep them safe.

It's simple, really.

Don't leave your children shut away using their computers in their rooms.


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## jlushh (Jun 22, 2009)

Sometimes I feel like parents are too obsessed with controlling EVERY aspect of their children's lives. When I was 16, if my parents told me not to go on a website, I would have blown a fuse.
(Not having a pop at anyone here but just reading the thinkuknow website, and found it really patronising).
But what the hell would I know, I don't have kids!


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## JANICE199 (Feb 1, 2008)

*BUMPING THIS UP.*


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## Maggi (Mar 20, 2009)

I agree with jlushh that many parents these days are too controlling, in that they need to know about every tiny aspect of their children's lives.
There's a degree of paranoia at play, too.
So much emphasis is placed - largely by the media - on the, 'threat,' to children from all manner of perceived, 'monsters.'

There really AREN'T paedophiles lurking around every street corner, or behind every seemingly innocent chatroom, messageboard etc.

I'm not attempting to downplay the very real risk of youngsters being groomed by paedophiles p[osing as other youngsters. It happens.
However, the majority of sexual abusers are members of their victims' families, close family friends, or are in positions of trust within a community.

I don't have any young children who could be at risk of inappropriate Internet contact.
My youngest is now seventeen and when he was a child, we didn't even have a computer, much less Internet access.
Had we, though, he wouldn't have been spending hours, alone using the computer.

When we DID get the Internet istalled, he was fifteen - and my husband installed certain security measures, to ensure that inapprpriately adult content couldn't be accessed.

However, as jlushh says, one can be TOO controlling - especially of adolescents.

My mother was REALLY strict with me when I got into my teens, wanting to know every detail of where I was gpoing and who I was with.
She even read my diaries and personal letters!

In the end, I rebelled in spectacular manner and brought about exactly the kinds of situations Mum had sought to keep me from!

Being a parent is to walk a very fine line between being concerned and aware, while, at the same time, not making one's children feel that they're on a choke-chain.

We have to learn to trust our youngsters to a degree - because if they feel that everything they do is open to interrogation, they WILL become secretive.
And that's when danger CAN creep in......


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## dancing dogs (Sep 1, 2009)

You would be suprised what the 11 year olds are up to on the internet. 
Most are fine but a few are not and their parents don't supervise them properley. The situation is very different to 10 years ago.


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## Dirky47 (Oct 20, 2009)




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## NorthernLight (Dec 19, 2009)

I personally don't think any kids under 14 or so should be using the internet unsupervised. 

Used to work for the largest UK ISP.

It is a really difficult area, now that all their friends have pcs and internet access is spreading onto varied devices.

Really don't know the answer to this one, generally speaking you cannot expect to know as much as your average 14 year old about the internet, but at the end of the day you are the parent.


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## Dirky47 (Oct 20, 2009)

NorthernLight said:


> I personally don't think any kids under 14 or so should be using the internet unsupervised.
> 
> Used to work for the largest UK ISP.
> 
> ...


But here in our country, I see 5 year old child playing online games. How surprising! :nonod:


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## Duncandlouis (Nov 27, 2009)

I must admit I received a message from "this forums youngest member" as she called herself but not her username and I replied that aged 10 I wouldn't allow my kids on forums like this without me or my wife being there each time. Nowadays we hear such horror stories about the internet and some things that happen on it. The more protection and education we can give, the better. Using a recent issue with a member and their 6500+ posts as an example, it just shows how we can all get duped by people.


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## ★ Chris ツ (Mar 29, 2010)

It's pretty obviouse that Children and Adults should NOT say yes in to meeting any random stranger across the internet NO MATTER who they are and where they are. If someone wants to meet them, they should say no because its like throwing your life down the drain because you dont even know them people. 
Also, you should understand fully not to be communicating in such that way (Love, Dating, Meeting Up, Giving personal addresses out) across the internet to strangers.

Talking about internet security, Mums and Dads out there can download free security for your internet browsers to block certain websites so that your child can stay safe (it safes you watching their back everytime to see what they are doing) :thumbup: :arf:


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## petra77 (Apr 24, 2010)

Great link. My kids are small so they don't have an access to internet. But once they will begin (I think very soon because my oldest is almost 5), I'll hope I will be able to take the needed precautions to avoid possible problems. I have to say I'm very concerned with the fact that all sort of predators are online trying to get in contact with our children.


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## Pet Cartoons (Jan 9, 2010)

Hi,

Great advice here, you may also find these articles helpful


What is a cyber stalker?

How to deal with cyber bullying on forums


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## Maggi (Mar 20, 2009)

Why do you ALLOW young children to use the Internet unsupervised......?

I come of a generation that didn't even have a telephone in the home.

Mobile phones were something not even conceived of.

TV finished at a certain time, it wasn't a comstant intrusion, as it is today.

I gave my mother nightmares when I was a teenager in the 'seventies, buy staying out late - or not coming home at all!

I couldn't let her know I was going to a party, whatever, because I had no means.

My elder son was born in 1974 - again no phone.

We had no Internet access till 2008 - when younger son was fifteen.

Hius access was limited from the outset - noyt because we feared he';d be,' groomed,' be some perv somewhere out there, but because we worried he'd get over-enthusiastic and run up a bill!

It cannot be left to some faceless government body to make sure that your children are safe when using the Internet: surely, YOU have the greater responsibility.....?

Don't allow them to be alone in their rooms, trawling the NET. 

For that matter, why would you allow them TVs in their bedrooms? 

As a household, we don't watch soap operas, but, when I've had to watch them, when staying with friends, seems to me that all of them are comprised of story loines that are violent adultery, dodgy financial dealings and murder seem to be the norm in soaps.

Why are parents not stopping their children viewing THAT?

Much less danger on the Internet, I would think, than there is from the steady drip-feed of soap operas......


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## pupy (Aug 27, 2010)

> this is really important - it was quite a shock to hear some of the experiences some of the year 6(10 and 11 year olds) were having and quite how much they knew about 'life'. I want all the parents on here to see this site as it is FULL of useful info.
> Reply With Quote


yes goerge,..
its very useful and important for every parents to watch this site to prevent and safe our children of low age,...


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## Guest (Oct 11, 2010)

*FOR THE ATTENTION OF PF'S YOUNGER MEMBERS:
*
To follow from a recent thread on the forum, I would like to advise all other junior members *NOT* to add anyone to their Facebook, MSN or Bebo accounts if they don't know them.

There have been threads in the past from new 'members' requesting that people add them to their account(s). Do not trust these people and alert a moderator immediately by clicking the 'report post' icon.

On a similar note, inform a moderator or the forum administrator (petforum) if you receive unsolicited private messages from strangers asking for personal information.

That is all...


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## Leon333 (Oct 12, 2010)

the two most under-appreciated and under-utilized techniques for ensuring "safe surfing" and "safe computing" in general are:

* Educating children to the problems and perils, so they know what to avoid and what to look out for.
* Parental supervision of a child's activities on the Internet including Web surfing, downloading, and participation in chat rooms. 

No software will ever substitute for these actions. This is no different than when children first obtain a driver's license: education and supervision are the best proactive measures.


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## Spaniel Lover (Oct 4, 2010)

LittleMissSunshine said:


> Thank You, I'll pass it on to my mum for her school.. It is sooooo scary what's out there now, when I was that age The most technical my childhood got was a skipping rope which counted the number of 'skips' then I was elated when I got an Acorn Electron and used to play repton!!!
> 
> What a sheltered life!!! I wish kids were still that innocent!!!:frown:


Shwoing ya age now hun lol


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## livefishcam (Oct 28, 2010)

Just Protect your pc with a good firewall and virus software. I use comodo which is really good and FREE plus im sat behind a hardware firewall as well only allowing common outbound ports like HTTP,HTTPs,SMPT,POP3

Free Application Firewall and Virus Scan - Firewall Antivirus Software Free Download from Comodo

Also protect the kids with an internet filter and only allow sites you wish or by content / rating.

See K9 which again is a free service and really good.

Free Internet Filter For The Kids - K9 Web Protection - Free Internet Filter and Parental Control Software | Free Internet Filtering and Parental Controls Software

Craig


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## Maggi (Mar 20, 2009)

Georges Mum said:


> We had training at school for the children year 6 abut internet safety. It was presented by the police. It was good. I wanted to tell you about the site:
> 
> Thinkuknow - home
> 
> ...


I don't get all this worry as to what six-year-olds are accessing online.

Why on earth are children THAT young being allowed to USE the Internet unsupervised?


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## Rob (May 6, 2009)

Thanks for posting this link, some important info here.


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## Maggi (Mar 20, 2009)

I'm SO glad that all my children are adults and I don't have to worry about what they're accessing on the Internet!

Mind you, I've always been of the opinion that if parents allow their children unregulated access- via PCs in bedrooms, for instance - they can't really scream when their children access something undesirable.

Internet providers can do only so much: the final protection MUST lie with parents.


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## GreekGerman (Aug 31, 2011)

Well there is a variety of software you can install ass a first step. !! And you can adjust the browser so it wouldn't allow entrance in particular web pages !


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## Jiskefet (May 15, 2011)

Mind you, the internet is just as unsafe for adults. 
As long as hosts of people fall for even the simplest phishing scam or virus hoax, how on earth do you expect these gullible souls to educate and protect their children.

I think that if the school pays attention to the dangers of internet and teaches children how to recognize people with less than noble motives, many teenagers could do a darn good job in educating their parents on the dangers of phishing, rather than the other way round.

I work at the uni, and we had a massive campaign just recently, teaching employees how to recognize phishing, including a test with phishing mails and legitimate mails. You'd be surprised how many fell for it, hook. line and sinker.

And some people put things on facebook that I most certainly wouldn't want the whole world to be able to see. Prospective employers check facebook, and so do crooks. If you tell online your granny will be buried on Monday, do expect your house to be broken into.... You just told the whole world there will be no-one home.

So it isn't just the children we need to protect, the entire population needs to be educated on internet safety. We are all far too generous with personal information online.


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## Anthi (Jan 18, 2012)

Safety for children is VERY important


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## Maggi (Mar 20, 2009)

Really, I don't see the problem.

If you restrict your childrens' access to the Internet, don't alow them to have a computer in their bedrooms, yoiiu've nothing to worry about!

You youngsters, honestly, you give your children all the technology they ask for - and then worry about who they're talking to.....!

You've brought it on yourselves!


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## Maggi (Mar 20, 2009)

I really do not understand all this paranoia around what children may be exposed to on the Internet.

It's in our hands, as parents, to wensure that our chikdren aren't so exposed. It's not difficult to install firewalls, that prevent our children acessing adult content.

Nor, I would I think, is it difficult to ensure that our children aren't stuck alone in their rooms, tapping away in isolation.

For goodness sake, stop worrying about what they MIGHT be accessing and actually take steps to ensure that they CAN'T gain access to the sites about which you're so worried.....!

I've spent the last forty years raising children. It's been my experience that no matter HOW we try to protect them, they will be exposed to influences that we'd rather they weren't. I mean; they have to go to school- where they'll be exposed to the, '_F,' word at every turn. That makes me cringe!

Seems to me that soaps - like Eastenders - that are taken as a normal part of family life - perpetuate the myth that, faced with a problem, one deals with it by violence.

As a family, we stopped watching such programmes more than twenty years ago. Ergo; my youngeer son hasn't been bombarded by the dubious values that are set by the story lines.

What I'm really trying to say is that it's always in YOUR hands to keep your children away from the worst influences of the Internet.

You only have to learn to say, 'NO!' And to MEAN it._


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## dktots (Aug 8, 2012)

Thank you for sharing this link. I'll share this to my friends.


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## Maggi (Mar 20, 2009)

I give UP!

Why does every parent seem to look for some big bad monster out there on the Internet, threatening their child/children with all manner of corruption - when they SHOULD be looking at how THEY police to what their offspring have access via the Internet?

You allow you children to sit in their own rooms, chattering away on the Internet; you allow your children to have the latest Smart phone - for which YOU pay the bill......What do you IMAGINE the outcome will be....?



We didn;'t allow our younger son - who'll be twenty in a fortnight - to have any kind of unsupervised access to a computer when we first got one. Nor did we allow him to allow him to have a mobile phone until he was fifteen - and able to start paying for the privilege by earning money from part time jobs......

There will always be predators out there in the land of Internet. How will you stop them getting access to your precious ones....? Unless YOU take control.

TAKE A STAND! Don't allow them to be alone in their rooms, accessing the Internet at any time they choose. DON'T allow them to have a mobile phone that YOU pay for. 

Seems to me that you young parents don't know you're born.

You know where your children are all the time. Because they have mobile phones. Shiuld they find themselves stranded, they can always call home to be assured of a lift home.

When I was a child, only ONE person on our street had a phone AND a car.

As a teenager; missed the last bus....? TOUGH! Coudn't phone home. We walked home - or we stayed out all night at a pal's place - and got into deep trouble when we finally pitched up home!


You seem to fear the Internet as the greatest danger to the well-being and safety of our children. But you're misguided.

Ninety per cent of sexual predation and subsequent abuse comes from someone KNOWN to and TRUSTED by the victim and his/her family......


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## Ray Craig (Aug 10, 2012)

My daughter is eleven and my son is nine. I have allowed them computers and mine is the network host which I had configured so that at any point I can view what they are viewing. They have a password each which I have given to them and the email to register is mine.
I don't want them to think of me standing over them every second, but I do know what they are accessing. 
I did see that a lot of Molly's friends have a facebook account, and (although she is sulking on me for it) that is not happening.
What shocked me was that there was every bit of information that a predator could possibly need was right there in the open for anyone to access for these girls!


I felt like a nasty stalker just being able to read it as the mother of a fellow pupil!


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## janakascent (Oct 12, 2012)

Georges Mum said:


> We had training at school for the children year 6 abut internet safety. It was presented by the police. It was good. I wanted to tell you about the site:
> 
> Thinkuknow - home
> 
> ...


Its really amazing dear.
I just socked after watching this.


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## garmon3869 (Oct 19, 2012)

nice topic...
internet is very necessary in modern days its very important for every persons to learn every thing...But i thinks its have many bad effects for children...


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## Allan53 (Oct 27, 2012)

Intriguing stuff. As I think I've mentioned, one of my degrees is in criminology, so I like to keep an eye on social perceptions etc of stuff like this, particularly with regard to actual stats of occurrence.


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## RabbitMonster (Mar 20, 2012)

Just in case anyone's not seen it, I'd like to link you to my recent thread about my internet scammer experience. For those of you who don't know me, I am an adult (perhaps not the most mature ) but I've always been internet savvy and safety conscious, yet I was still scammed. For the story, see the link below:

Internet scammers aren't always after your money.


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## Lavenderb (Jan 27, 2009)

I would just like to draw attention to this thread, especially for any newer members on here who are not aware of it.

Please be careful who you divulge your details to on this forum. Don't give out personal details to anyone until you are absolutely sure you know who they are. I've been here 4 years and only 2 members who I have actually met have any personal info such as phone numbers from me.

Stay safe guys !


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## Laylaluke (Feb 21, 2013)

The link really has really good information for all as we all aren't aware about this and thanks for sharing the link.


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## casde (May 17, 2013)

thnks for sharing this it is quite informational


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## Picklelily (Jan 2, 2013)

I don't get it!


There's a simple answer to all this no phones with internet access until over 16, computer in a main room in the house, sit with them when they use it.

You might even find you enjoy checking out links and games with them. I still play one online game that I started out checking its suitability for my then 11 year old son. He has long moved on at 19 but I'm still playing and chatting to the group of Mums I met online.

The computer, x-box, pc, play station and phone aren't replacement friends, parents or baby sitters.

Too much abdicating parental responsibility these days, the Government, Google, Facebook etc aren't responsible for your child you are!


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## Donut76 (May 15, 2013)

My almost 10 yr old has a laptop that had internet access .. It is only ever used in the living room with me or her dad in the room

It has a child protection thing on it which blocks certain sites .. It even stopped her browsing travel sites that she needed for her homework won't let her browse wiki or a lot of other things 
She can't have amazon eBay etc or use any other pay sites like ASDA online

When I used her laptop to email my hubby a piece of work to print off at work (no printer here) he gets an email telling him her laptop has been used for email

Hubby had his own log in password protected so she cannot change any settings or alter the parental controls

In short she is "safe" but that does not mean we will relax our responsibility as it is still up to us to monitor her activity


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