I used to go to school discos and get up to all sorts of things. My parents didn’t attend the same disco.

So we need to give some level if privacy, find a balance .

Good idea Mark. I monitor my young teens actions online and it gives me the opportunity to deal with any issues that he might need a little extra guidance with…… Thankfully no massive issues to date just an awful lot of people falling of scooters/segways/skateboards/bikes etc and blooming football! :)

Hi Trish,

If you follow this link to our website – http://www.fuzion.ie/index.cfm/page/cyberbullying – you can download a print ready file.

Thanks so much for sharing xx

Thanks Deirdre. It prints in good quality.
I may have been wrong about the email bouncing. I used @fusion.ie not @fuzion.ie Thanks for this anyway, our school anti-bullying team will put them up next week.

But what about the man of the house? He has needs..

I hate to break this to you Maria but that’s gonna be as useful as a chocolate teapot.
Face it, we grew up with this technology as a new thing, when I was a teen only nerds had computers, over a couple of decades they’ve become more commonplace but most Internet users still fall into the category of “noob”.
Todays kids have grown up with computers as normal. Their understanding of computers will put yours to shame unless you’re a hacker yourself or work in high level IT. You might think you’re blocking things, but there’s always a way around it, and you can bet your ass that your kids will find it if they so desire.

Why shelter them? Why treat them like they’re idiots? They know more about all this new technology than we do so the best thing you can do is stop sheltering them and be open, honest and frank with them. The Internet is like real life magnified, if someone’s a nasty b#*tard in real life they’ll be even more so online. If they’re bothering you, move away from them / block them / report them. Hiding kids away from certain parts of the Internet is an insult to their intelligence, and yours.

I wouldn’t agree Shanti Om. Not all kids are computer experts and not all adults are total idiots when it comes to computer usage. I’ve been using computers for over 15 years. I have a bit of a head start on my 13 yr old. The companies who develop these systems are well aware that some children might try to outwit them, but it’s not that easy. When it comes to protecting children, I think it would be irresponsible of parents to just leave it to the child. I don’t want my 6 yr old accidently stumbling upon pornography or my 11yr old browsing sites that are adult orientated. We don’t have such a casual attitude when our children are out and about- we have guidelines and boundries and do what we can to protect them. Why should it be any different when it comes to the internet?

Yes, and in real life we teach them to stay away from rough kids and dangerous situations.. Why should the Internet be any different?
We can’t totally restrict them because its easy to find a way around anything, simply by asking the Internet, so surely it’s better to teach them to have a bit of cop on and keep themselves safe just as we would warn them to stay away from certain places or situations – but most importantly, we should explain *why* we want them to stay away so they don’t think we are just trying to steal their fun.

I think an approach which combines advice with control is probably the best bearing in mind that children start using computers at a very young age and, no matter what advice you give, it’s not always followed. I wouldn’t expect a young child to be as savvy as a mature adult. There are numerous sites that offer great guidelines for children and parents including a downloadable one on the Barnardos website. For younger kids, It’s often advisable to sit with them while they use the computer and to always have the computer in the main family room. of course, there are different guidelines for different ages, but I think most parents like the security of some sort of filtering system.

Damocles, part of it says “be kind to others”. You and some others , judging by past contributions made , ought to take heed and act like our children are being advised.

You want me to treat people like children?

Accidentally deleted twitter link to above.

Anonymous bullying online of teachers? Really? Where? When? I missed this boat entirely!