The Internet is like bringing a city into your living room: there are the exciting places for children to go and enjoy but also lots of places where you wouldn't want your children to go unsupervised! The main dangers for children can be grouped into:

• Potential Contact - from someone online who may wish to harm them. Children must re-learn the "stranger=danger" rule in a new context and never give out personal details or meet alone with anyone they've contacted via the Internet.
• Inappropriate Content - keep an eye on the material your children are looking at and agree the ground rules about where your children go and how they behave.
• Excessive Commercialism and advertising which invades your child's privacy. Encourage your children not to fill out forms which ask for lots of personal details.

Microsoft Internet Explorer & Mozilla Firefox keeps a record of recently visited sites and also makes temporary copies of web pages for short-term storage.

• To see recently visited sites, click on the History button or press Ctrl and the H key.
• To see temporary files, open Internet Explorer and select Internet Options, on the General tab under Temporary Internet Files, click the Settings  button and the click View Files.

• Choose child-friendly or moderated chartrooms.
• Learn the language of chatrooms and log on yourself so you know how it works.
• People aren’t necessarily who they say they are online. Be careful who you trust.
• It’s best not to meet people in person if you have only ‘met’ them online before.
• Keep personal information secret. This includes: name, address, phone numbers, email addresses, pictures or school information.
• Make sure your profile doesn’t include any personal information.
• You can walk away from an uncomfortable or unpleasant conversation simply by logging out.
• Talk to your parents or carers if you feel uncomfortable online.
• Be especially careful about private chat messages.
• Use a nickname, not your real name.
• If you use instant messaging like MSN, don’t accept messages from people you don’t know; don’t add people to your buddy list unless you know them personally.

Bullying online is increasingly common but it is horrible for victims who are harassed by email, text message, online chat or even by defamatory websites.

• If your child tells you they are being bullied, explain that bullying is wrong and that seeking help is the right thing to do.
• Don’t reply to any bullying messages they receive but do keep a record of every message.
• Look into methods of blocking these messages.
• Talk to your child’s school or if your child is being stalked or harassed go to the police.