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More needed to protect children online
(25-09-07) - Parents rely too heavily on children doing as they are asked to keep them safe online, according to new research.
The results of the latest BroadbandChoices survey showed that 84 per cent of parents across the UK relied on a verbal agreement with children as their number one means of vetting the internet.
However, when children aged 11-16 were asked what they had been doing online over the particularly miserable summer holidays, 48 per cent said they had been downloading music and photos, 45 per cent had been making new friends in chat rooms and 40 per cent had been using the relatively new phenomenon of social networking sites.
Michael Phillips, BroadbandChoices product director said: “It’s surprising that so many people rely heavily on their child doing what they ask as it just isn’t going to happen in most cases.”
After verbal agreement, the three most popular ways of monitoring children’s online activities were:
The use of parental control software such as McAfee and Norton (63 per cent)
Restricting the amount of time children spend online (62 per cent)
Manually checking the computer to see what they have been doing online (59 per cent)
“However, there are a few simple steps parents can take to bolster protection for their child when online,” added Mr Phillips. “Rather than relying on a single approach, they should use parental control and security software, combined with education, to stop inappropriate material - and people - reaching their child.”
But that’s not the only threat posed by your children’s online habits, which present another danger too; exceeding a set download limit, or even a fair usage policy can push your monthly broadband bill up or force you to upgrade to a more appropriate - and more expensive - package.
“With 48 per cent of children regularly downloading from the internet, usage allowances could easily be exceeded and parents could find themselves out of pocket at the end of the month if they aren’t able to monitor it,” added Mr Phillips.
Concerned parents don’t need to fork out on expensive parental controls and antivirus software to protect their children, explained Mr Phillips. “While many parents want a known, trusted name like Norton or McAfee when looking for parental controls, there are loads of free options available too, such as K9 Web Protection and you might even get the software free from your broadband provider. Our free Broadband Download Monitor also lets you keep an eye on how much is being downloaded so that you never exceed your limit.”
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