John Parsons - Cyber Safety
Recently, we hosted John and he was superb! His focus is on parenting, particularly with regard to INTERNET HEALTH AND WELLBEING and Keeping children safe online
Here are John's top parenting tips:
1) Become your child’s “friend” in any social network environment your child creates.
2) Maintain easy access to your child's profile via their log in......you will see everything.
3) Ensure that you can always have access to your child's phone to help them stay safe
(i.e. it is not a no-go area) ...check the quality of how they are communicating with others; talk about how they connect and communicate with friends. Is it consistent with the values of your family?
4) Educate your children about the importance of protecting family and friends images ....teach them to seek permission of another before they send or upload images to the internet.
5) Try to always maintain open lines of communication with children. Do not over-react if you see something that alarms you or makes you angry..... share your concerns, and always talk about the issues and how they relate to them and their friends safety.
6) Agree on a time in the evening to stop using the technology within the home...that’s everyone. “Remember, what we model today will either come back and embrace us or bite us tomorrow” – John Parsons.
7) Talk/ask about their friends and social activity as a way to reduce the opportunity for cyber-separation to develop......encourage being open about new friends and what they are up to, and who their parents are. When in doubt, call the parents and introduce yourself.
8) Teach your children to protect their online identity, as a way to future proof themselves for employment.....we need to nurture and protect them online and teach them how to protect themselves as they engage information technology.
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