Chatting online and child safety: a guide for parents
The internet offers great opportunities for children to interact and communicate with friends and people from all over the world. Chatting over the Internet can be done with a group of people in a chatroom, or with the person you are playing an online game against. As well as being able to add your comments to a conversation ongoing in a chatroom or online game between a number of people, it is also usually possible to chat privately to one person in these environments.
There are however, potential risks in communicating to people that you don’t know, and unfortunately some children have been hurt having gone to meet the ‘friends’ they have made online.
Adults with a sexual interest in children have used chatrooms and other interactive areas online to make contact with and befriend children, and then ‘groomed’ them, ie persuaded and manipulated them to meet up where they have been abused.
There have also been cases of children being bullied or threatened online in chat environments.
This guide provideds information and advice that will help you keep your children safe online.
Date: Fri Dec 22 10:28:10 GMT 2006
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