SafeKidsOnline.co.uk is a website for parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles, and any responsible adult who is interested in learning more about technology and the way children are using it. We hope the site proves useful to adults who want to improve internet safety for children in their care. The more you know about modern technology the better placed you are to help keep kids safe on-line. We hope that people find the site informative and educational, and ultimately that the information here is helpful to people concerned about what children see, experience and can do with modern technology.
In today’s modern world, keeping up with technology can be both time consuming and complex. It needn’t be this way, you do not have to be a rocket scientist to help protect children when they are using the internet, learning a little can go a long way.
Having a basic awareness of the types of devices children and young people might use, what kinds of things they might participate in when using the internet can help you understand the risks, and what you can do to help them to use the internet safely.
Should you bother learning? that’s entirely up to you, we aren’t here to preach about what is and isn’t acceptable for children in your care, just to provide a little helpful information that will help you make informed decisions. All children are different, all adults are different and everyone will have widely varying opinions about what is and isn’t acceptable.
What we would say is the internet is a wonderful place, much like the world at large, however, just like real life there are good and bad places, people and things. What is good and bad is a matter of opinion, but by knowing how to keep children away from the places, people and things you consider bad you’re some way to making the internet a safer place for everyone.
We will highlight some of the dangers, we will explain how things work in as simple a manner as we can, and we will let you know how you can use technology to help promote a safer on-line environment for children. We’ll also review services and products that claim to improve on-line safety and let you know what we think.
Lastly – The website is not for IT experts, but for ordinary users of technology with widely varying experience levels, and so our articles are written with that in mind. That said, if you are an expert, and spot an error or omission, please feel free to contact us and help us out. Similarly if you have something you want us to cover, drop us a line and let us know.