Parents should welcome the Internet Advisory Board's new safety initiatives, but beware of losing perspective. The radio ad - with the child-friendly voice of Ian Dempsey - warns children never to arrange to meet anyone that they have met in cyberspace. In Britain there have been two murders associated with this activity, but so far in the Republic this has never happened. The chances are small that your child will actually be exposed to inappropriate material, such as pornography, or contacted by a paedophile in a chatroom.
The single most important thing parents can do is to place the PC in a communal area of the house, rather than in a child's bedroom, advises John Haskins, deputy chairman of the board. Only 50 per cent of Irish parents have the PC in a communal area, but if it is on view to anyone passing parents can discreetly see what children are logging on to, whether the parent knows how to use the computer or not.
"Don't be put off good parenting by not knowing enough about the technicalities," he advises. Nine out of 10 Irish parents feel they have the primary responsibility for protecting their children when they use the internet but only 23 per cent feel they know more about the internet than their children.
Engage with your children and ask them to show you how to log on to a site. You will quickly see how advanced their knowledge is. "Get more involved in what your kids are doing. Many parents have a terrific mental block about the internet, but kids love to explain what they are doing." Learn how to log on and click on the last website your child visited. By clicking on the arrow beside the web address, you can see what sites your child has logged on to.
This is a bit like reading a private diary, so be very, very careful with how you approach this. If you're not worried, say nothing. If your child has seen pornography, you will have to find a way to discuss it neutrally without traumatising or embarrassing the child.
Parenting now is about preparing your child to deal with information, not about trying to keep your child innocent - which is impossible. "The traditional view was that the Government would look after censorship but that's all gone. We need to change the emphasis to educating, rather than blocking." For more tips and FAQs, log on to: www.iab.ie
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