Keep your kids safe online, parents warned

Lorna Naylor, Nottinghamshire County Council’s anti-bullying co-ordinator, says safeguarding teens and younger children when they use the internet and social networking has never been more of a priority.

Her advice follows the publication of an inquiry into gang and group-related child sexual exploitation.

Lorna said: “The findings of this report are clearly disturbing. Parents need to maintain a dialogue with their children, so they can support them with social networking, sharing sites and the use of webcams, as well as how they’re using the internet generally to access information.”

The council has issued advice for parents including:

-When setting up accounts, there should be a discussion about what is private

- Encourage children and young people to use privacy tools

- Remind children to only add people they know and trust in the offline world to their contact lists on social networking sites

-Children should be aware of who they are sharing their location with

- Make sure a PIN has been activated on mobile devices

-Encourage children to think about what they post online including pictures