You see, you can be anyone on-line. You can be any gender, any age, any nationality, anywhere. Isn’t that scary? Imagine a trusting child trying to make sense of this world. Photographs shared can literally be photographs of anyone. If you meet somebody on-line, you have no idea who they are but our children, if allowed, will trust and believe so much more readily than you can begin to fathom.
As our parents risk assessed our activities as children and ensured we fully understood our hazards, we must do the same for our children. Staying safe online is an integral part of our BIS Life Skills programme. At school, we have filters and firewalls to protect your children from cyber harm. We can track their activity online and can intervene swiftly if required.
Here are the five key questions to ask yourself as a parent:
1. How vigilant and aware are you of your child online at home?
2. What social media accounts do your children have?
3. Who are their cyber friends?
4. How confident are you that their friends are who they say they are?
5. What controls are in place at home to safeguard your children online?
Technology can be a wonderful thing but when it is allowed access to our children’s bedrooms it absolutely needs to be managed.
Advice and guidance for parents on how cyber activity can be managed can be found here.
https://www.webwise.ie/parents/advice-top-10-tips-for-parents/
Jay Graham
Deputy Head of Secondary
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