Internet and Child Protection Information and Charities
Staying
SMART - cyber smart!
Information for youth and children (and parents
too!)
Okay you may know this, but do your
parents? There's some great stuff
on the Net, but some very unpleasant stuff (and people) as well...
If you know someone who crosses roads without checking to see if its safe you
probably also know what the danger is. Surprisingly the
internet, chat (IRC/IM), email, etc can be just as dangerous. It's the
internet highway!! and its dangers are one's you can't see sometimes even if you
know what you are looking for!
Well just as there
guidelines for helping you check if its safe to cross the road there are guides
for using the net, so be safe and be 'SMART'.
Secrecy
Keep your
personal details secret. Never use your parents' credit card without
their permission, and never give away your name, address, or passwords -
it's like handing out the keys to your home!
Meetings
Never meet
someone you have contacted in Cyberspace without your parent's/carer's
permission, and then only when they can be present.
Accepting
Do not accept e-mails, open attachments or download files from people or
organisations you don't really know or trust - they can contain viruses
or nasty messages.
Remember
Anybody online may not be who they say they are. If you feel
uncomfortable or worried in a chat room simply get out of there!
Tell
Tell your
parent or carer if someone or something makes you feel uncomfortable or
worried.
UK Charity providing a confidential helpline for children to call in the
UK. Good website for children including information on school problems or trouble at
home or tips on how to be a good friend. Support them if
you can.
If you
are a child in trouble or in danger ring them. Its free... Keep trying if
they are engaged, unfortunately you are not alone!
The childrens section of
'The Once Project'
providing vital information on how to not just stay safe on the net but
also learn how to use your computer to help you work
out if the person is genuine and catch them if they are not.
Their mission: "To involve children and teenagers in the
development of innovative web based educational tools to teach children
about on-line safety. The idea is to maximise children's input into
empowering each other with knowledge of how to protect themselves in
cyberspace."
Valuable advice for staying safe while using
the internet given by this American non-profit organisation (Hyperlink
opens their page within this sites frame, so you can easily browse the
information and come back here...)
Charity committed to keeping children safe from harm or abuse focusing
on preventative policies and tactics to use before any abuse takes
place. Website concentrates on material dealing with bullying and contact
information for the organisation.
(National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) The UK's
primary charity dealing with prevention of child abuse. Also has a 24 hour
helpline 0808 800 5000
A multi award winning site set up by teenagers for teenagers. Founded by
Oli in response to being bullied at school, 'Pupiline is a
bright and bold site..' that has attracted a lot of media coverage
and often referred to in Radio 1's, late night "Sunday Surgery"
as a valuable source of information for teenagers.
!! Content on
this site is for teenagers and certain areas may not be suitable for
children.
Good
source for learning about identity deception in chat rooms and how to
fight it.
Mission: Empowerment of
parents, teachers and carers with the knowledge they need to educate
children to navigate safely on the Internet by facilitating communication
and exchange via discussion forums and to raise awareness of the positive
aspects of the Internet by inviting parents and teachers to compile a
database of web sites that they would recommend for children"
A site dedicated to help reunite missing children
with their families. The site has support from a number of UK charities
and organisations.
Bullying
Sources of information relating to bullying
Following sites are very useful if you have concerns about bullying.
Providing information on what is bullying, how to prevent and protect, what to
do to help those being bullied or even what to do if you know a child who is
one.
This is the first major survey there has been into
school bullying with separate sections covering pupils, parents, teachers
and adults who have been bullied. It covers areas like name calling,
violence, racism, homophobia, hi-tech abuse and bullying out of school.
It also asks whether pupils who take the survey have
also bullied others and whether parents were happy about the way their
complaints were dealt with. The teachers’ version asks whether teachers
feel they have adequate skills to deal with bullying or whether they’d
like more training
NB. While all the above links provide good advice, be aware
that some sites cover other issues and may not be so suitable to for younger
children / non teenagers.
