The Internet
The Internet is very much a part of our lives these days, and provides a useful educational tool for adults and children.

But there is adult material on the internet which is not suitable for children. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) may be able to advise you on filters, which prevent children accessing adult or unsuitable material.

When they use chat rooms, encourage your children to:

• Never give out personal information or their e-mail address;
• Arrange to meet someone in the chat room if they get on well with them, rather than contacting them direct; and
• Use a ‘moderated’ chat room where someone ‘referees’ – this protects them from abusive people

If they become friendly with someone they chat to on-line that they want to meet in person you should always go with them. Arrange to meet in a public place where there are lots of people around. Children and teenagers should never arrange to meet anyone they have met on-line without a responsible adult being with them.

Keeping computers in family areas (not in a child’s bedroom) also gives you some level of surveillance over how they are using the Internet.