Keeping the Internet Safe for Kids
Help! I can’t even keep up with all the new apps and programs and websites that are popping up every day! As a parent in this fast changing Internet world, it is impossible to take a superior stand and just do a blanket lockdown with the kids. How do we make the Internet safe for our kids?
Is that a familiar cry? I don’t want to sound like an ad, but guess what? Help’s on the way!
Today is Safer Internet Day (SID)! Yup. Every year, on the second day of the second week of the second month! This global initiative started 10 years ago in Europe, and it seeks to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially amongst children and young people.
We play an important role in shaping how children use the internet, and in contributing to a better, safer internet. Hence, the Council has also created resources for parents to mark the Safer Internet Day. There’s a PDF copy of our parenting handbook – “Clique Click: Parenting in a Digital Age” – here and you can find a series of online videos entitled “Internet Safety Tips for Parents” here . Produced in collaboration with Google Singapore, these videos feature fellow parents and cyber wellness experts sharing tips on how children can be guided in an always-on, always-connected media environment.
Here in Singapore, we are joining SID for the first time! Spearheaded by the Media Literacy Council (MLC), this marks an awareness for all on Internet safety. You can join in the online pledge to do your part and support the Media Literacy Council’s “Let’s create a better internet” campaign from 11 February to 31 March 2014.
And for me, I decided to do my part and share how we can protect our kids from OUR own personal social media platforms. Check it out!
It's fascinating how we have to think about all these things that just weren't an issue in our childhoods. We're really breaking ground in parenting!
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