New Internet Safety Campaign Launched for Children and Parents June 2002

A special Internet Safety Awareness campaign aimed at both parents and young people about Internet safety, is launched today by the Northern Ireland Area Child Protection Committees.

Working with the children’s Internet charity, Childnet International, the Committees have produced a series of leaflets to help inform the public about the dangers for children in using the Internet unsupervised as well as simple and straightforward advice for both parents and children as how to stay safe.

The leaflets which use cartoons to help drive the message home will be sent to every pupil in schools throughout N. Ireland and remind children to be very careful about who they are talking to on the Internet and never give out personal information to strangers.

The leaflets purposefully use provocative titles to get both parents and young people’s attention. The parent one is entitled “Keeping up with your Child on the Internet” reflecting the fact that many parents feel that when it comes to the Net their children know more than they do ! The one for young people is entitled “ Helping your parents be cool about the Internet” and recognises that many young people realise that their parents have concerns about them using the Internet.

Stephen Carrick-Davies from Childnet says, “If you tell young people simply not to do something the danger is that they may be tempted to find out why. In this leaflet we have tried to empower young people to be responsible and encourage them to be SMART and “cool” about using the Internet sticking to the positive and prove to their parents that they are responsible.“ Both leaflets include a simple set of guidelines for children to remember around the theme of being SMART online.

S SAFE– Always keep your name, address, mobile phone no and password private - it's like giving out the keys to your home!

M MEETING someone you have contacted in cyberspace can be dangerous. Only do so with your parent's/carer's permission, and then when they can be present.

A ACCEPTING e-mails or opening files from people you don't really know or trust can get you into trouble - they may contain viruses or nasty messages.

R REMEMBER someone online may be lying and not be who they say they are. Stick to the public areas in Chat rooms and if you feel uncomfortable simply get out of there!

T TELL your parent or carer if someone or something makes you feel uncomfortable or worried.

Pop band SIX have endorsed the campaign and a special message from the band is included on the leaflet “The Internet is a great tool and we use it to keep in touch with our fans. However, it is really important that we learn to use the Net safely and we would encourage all young people in Northern Ireland to learn these SMART rules and stay safe online.“ SIX.

The four Area Child Protection Committees have joined forces to produce this resource because in their day-to-day work of providing advice and support to parents they realised that the parents needed practical advice about their children’s use of the Internet. While Internet use in schools was generally safe, filtered and monitored, children are using the Internet in a variety of environments from Internet cafes, friends houses and libraries where they are able to access everything. Education is therefore crucial.

The Cartoons were especially designed by Childnet and whilst being amusing and light hearted also help to highlight the key role which parents need to take in getting involved in their children’s Internet use and help them understand the nature of the medium.