The EU Kids Online III project, supported by the European Commission's (EC) Safer Internet Programme and based at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), has released a report, as part of Safer Internet Day on 7 February 2012, showing how it is possible to reduce the risks of exploitation faced by children online through the positive involvement of parents and teachers in the activities of children on the Internet.
According to the report, restrictive mediation by parents, entailing navigation restrictions and limitation of Internet use by children, while reducing the risks of online exposure, also closes off opportunities available to children in terms of learning, communication, participation and fun. On the other hand, parental active mediation of safety - parents talking to their child about the internet, encouraging them to explore the internet, and sharing online activities with them - also reduces the likelihood of children being exposed to online risks, but does not limit learning and the dynamics of Internet browsing.
Through its information society website, the EC has published six important suggestions for parents to help their children use the Internet safely:
- Talk about the internet and dedicate time to explore it together with the child. Ask the child to show them what he or she likes to do online, and try not to be shocked or overreact if they do not share the same interests.
- Stimulate the child's creativity. Point them in the direction of the best online content to explore for their development (or just for fun). The child can learn and discover new sites, play games, write blogs, create websites. Stretch his or her imagination.
- Set up rules or boundaries together. When\Where\Why and for how long can the child use their mobile phone or computer? If you listen to the child and establish fair rules, then he or she is more likely to stick to them.
- Protect personal data and help the child understand that information or photos they put online can remain visible to everybody forever. Help them set up the highest level of privacy settings on social networks.
- Think about using parental control tools to automatically filter certain topics (e.g. violence, porn) and limit the time the child will be able to navigate the web.
- Avoid having a computer in the child's bedroom. Put it in the living room instead. It will make it easier to follow the child's web-surfing habits on a daily basis.
Further information:
- EU Kids Online, How can parents support children's internet safety? http://www2.lse.ac.uk/media@lse/research/EUKidsOnline/EU%20Kids%20III/Reports/ParentalMediation.pdf
- EC Information Society Safer Internet Day 2012 http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/sip/events/day/index_en.htm
Related information on ANACOM's website:
- Safer Internet Day - 07.02.2012 https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1116792
