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Child safety online 'responsibility of parents and teachers'
Wednesday 22nd July 2009, by Daniel King
It is important that parents and teachers are supported so they are in a better position to help youngsters use the web safely, it has been suggested.
Will Gardner, chief executive officer at Childnet International, made this comment after Ofcom published guidelines aimed at mothers and fathers entitled Managing Your Media: A Consumer Guide to Protecting Your Children.
Recommendations by the watchdog include finding out what sons' and daughters' favourite sites are and to tell them not to give out personal details like name, address or school.
The advice covers some key issues, which is a good start as it is important to encourage relatives to engage with offspring about the technology they use, Mr Gardner noted.
However, it should not only be down to mums and dads to ensure youngsters are safe online, he asserted.
"Children have a role, parents have a role, schools have a roll, industry has a roll, the government also have a role that they need to fulfil," Mr Gardner said.
"Parents and some teachers do feel left behind by children's use of new technology and they feel that they're catching up in the terms of the way they are using it."
There are a number of ways people can get information on the issue of web security for the young and adolescents, explained Mr Gardner, who pointed out courses, websites and free resources are all available.
According to research by Cyber Sentinel, the average teenager spends 31 hours online a week. One hour and 35 minutes of this is used browsing dieting and weight loss sites and forums.
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