The Internet offers children an important research, information and communication tool. At the same time, parents are concerned about the risks their children face online. The challenge for parents is to educate themselves and their children about how to use the Internet safely.

The following suggestions are offered to protect your children from becoming a victim on the Internet

• Keep your computer in a communal place (such as the family room), not in a bedroom, and ensure the screen is readily visible rather than hidden from view. That way you can supervise its use and what is being accessed.
• Discuss online stranger danger with your children early on and establish rules about what they can and can and cannot say to people online.
• Understand parenting controls on your Internet browser and how to block websites and emails
• Ask your Internet Service Provider (ISP) about how special software programs can be used to help protect your child if you would like to keep tighter control of surfing practices.
• Do not allow your child to submit personal information online (for example, photographs, surname, telephone number, address, school they attend, password) without your permission or knowledge of why they are submitting it
• Do not allow your child to have access to your credit card details or account details for e-commerce or auction sites.
• Examine the privacy policy of a website and why the website may request personal particulars
• Explain what Agreements mean and the consequences of clicking on the 'agree' button
• Try to interact with your child while they are on the Internet - expressing an interest can be both informative, reassuring and educational to both you and the child
• Encourage them to show you and tell you about anything that makes them uncomfortable when surfing the Internet
• Not everyone on the Internet is who he or she may seem. Changing your identity is an easy process and strangers online may be difficult to recognise.
• Educate your child to identify and avoid abuse on online forums and to log off chatrooms after use.
• Familiarise yourself and talk to your child about who they contact online.
• Never allow your child to have an unsupervised meeting offline with anyone they meet online
• Educate your child on the dangers of opening email, especially those with attachments
• Above all, set some appropriate guidelines for Internet use and discuss and enforce them with the children you care for.

Report suspicious online behaviour that you think involves the sexual grooming, abuse or exploitation of children to your local police immediately.