Our Family Life have teamed up with Internet Matters to help parents keep our children safe while they are online.
I've recorded a series of vlogs that you can find on Internet Matters YouTube channel, to offer some helpful tutorials, tips, and I share with you my own personal experiences of this amazing online world we now live in.
Who are Internet Matters?
Internet Matters is a not-for-profit organisation that has been set up to offer help and advice to parents about many of the issues and technologies that children may come across in the online world.
I love the internet, and I am all for my children learning about it, but setting parental controls, filters and restrictions will allow our children to enjoy social media, online gaming and using the internet while keeping safe.
I like to think of myself as being a bit tech savvy. I'm on social media, I use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest pretty much everyday. I use the internet on my computer at work and my iPad too. But I didn't realise I was actually a world away from my 12-year-old daughter, Amber, when it came to the way she uses her smart phone, tablet and laptop.
I am from the ZX Spectrum generation, where computers just started to appear in homes, but you just played games on them and there was no way of contacting other people like there is now. We had to use a landline phone or knock on our friends' door! I think this is the biggest gap between parents and children there has ever been, as parents don't have their own experiences to call on, because it didn't exist back then! I'm not that old - honest!
My vlog series with Internet Matters
I didn't really know about setting parental controls across apps and devices, so through my journey with Internet Matters, I have learnt so much, even things I had never even thought about.
Internet Matters is a really easy to use website with clear step-by-step instructions for everything you need to help your children stay safe.
I know there isn't a handbook for parenting, but as we put our children's seatbelt on when they are in the car, and hold their hand when crossing the road, just because we can't physically see the virtual world of online, doesn't mean the dangers aren't there.
Check out my videos on Internet Matters YouTube channel here.
I'd love to hear your thoughts, please leave me a comment below.
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