Friday 16 May 2014

Internet Matters...

Internet Matters, it really does...

Both my children can easily navigate search engines, online games and the Cbeebies website on any one of the 4 tablets we have in our household. If my son has a school project, with just a little bit of help from me he can go online and find out all he needs to know about the Great Fire of London or the Pharaohs. To help him with his spelling and reading he has a range of apps to play educational games on and if we fancy a family trip out I check out the best offers for local attractions on my iphone. 

However, when I was the same age as my eldest child is now the World Wide Web was just going public. When I was in primary school, if I wanted information, I went to a library, if I wanted to play a game I went outside or got out the scrabble and if my mum wanted to take me out for the day, she would look at listings in our local newspaper to see what was on.

Times have changed though,  and these days we have so much information at our fingertips, it is an amazing resource but being one of the first generations whose children have grown up with the internet so readily available from toddlerhood onward, we as parents can use some help and guidance when it comes to our childrens' online safety.

Internet Matters



That's where Internet Matters comes in, the UK's 'big four' broadband providers; BT, Sky, Virgin and TalkTalk have put aside their commercial differences and joined forces for the first time with this not-for-profit organisation to help parents safely navigate the internet with their children.

The move will cement the UK’s position as a world-leader on child internet safety, advising parents to...

 ‘learn about it, talk about it, deal with it'.


I've heard a few worrying stories about children being put at risk through their use of the internet and although I usually keep an eye on my two while they browse at the moment, I know that as they get older that's not always going to be possible and I would like to see more information readily available on ways to protect my children online.

 Research by Internet Matters has found that 74% off parents are in the same boat as me and 48% would like to see this information available online. This is why Internetmatters.org has been created.

 I've been having a look over the last few days since the site has been live and found that it really is a one stop hub to provide parents with access to information to help make their children safer online whatever age they are.  

A few of the really useful things I've found on this new resource so far are:


  • Sections broken down into age to provide tailored advice for the stage your child is at.
  • Information on using Parental Controls and links to the filters that each provider has set up (We already make us of HomeSafe.)
  • Links to Child Friendly search engines such as www.swiggle.org or www.kids-search.com 
  • Pages detailing important online issues that parents should be aware of, from Cyber Bullying to online grooming and inappropriate content.
  • A prominent Take Action Button, giving you quick and easy routes to reporting issues you are concerned about.


If you have children who use the internet I would strongly suggest you taking a look at this free resource. I know it will become a site I regularly visit as my children get older and start to use the internet in different ways.



This post was written as part of my ambassadorship as a TalkTalk Family Blogger.

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