Waimate High School Newsletter

ONLINE SAFETY

Helpful tools, resources and tips around supporting your child with online safety.
    by Kellie Tagiaia

With the advancement in technology and students living in a much more automated and technology rich environment, we think it is important to share some helpful tools and tips for parents that might help  supporting and keeping safe your child online. Students had Attitude sessions last week that also helped prepare them for the online world. 

Young people using apps such as Snapchat, Tiktok etc can cause problems when these are not managed or used responsibly. It is recommended that parents keep an eye on what their child is doing on online platforms and teach them about respectful and responsible use. 

Attached at the bottom is some effective parent guides for helping you navigate some of these platforms. This week's guide is for TikTok and general guides for parents for apps on iPhone and Android devices.

Image by: Kellie Tagiaia

Below is also key guides and info from Netsafe for parents. 

SEVEN STEPS TO HELP YOU...

The seven steps from Netsafe’s 'Online Safety Parent Toolkit' are designed to enhance your digital parenting knowledge and have been developed with parents in mind.

  1. Understand: Read about the potential online risks, challenges and sometimes illegal behaviour young people face to understand what may happen
  2. Learn: Ask your child about what they do, how they use devices and who they talk to learn about their activities. Check in regularly to see what has changed
  3. Explore: Take the time yourself to explore the sites, apps and technologies your child uses to improve your knowledge and understand their experience
  4. Agree: Create a family code with your child to agree on what they can do online including sites to visit, appropriate behaviours, privacy settings and limits
  5. Teach: Recognise each child has unique needs, but some online safety concepts are universal. Start by teaching yours the Five tips to help your child thrive
  6. Model: Be a good example to your child. Make sure you role model the sort of behaviours you want to see your child use online and offline
  7. Plan: Make a plan so everybody knows what to do if something goes wrong and where you will be able to get advice and support in challenging times

For more information around this follow the link Steps for Parents