Pastoral Care
As we work through our second period of remote learning, students are continuing to spend an unprecedented amount of time online. Online time for school-work, socialising and entertainment continue to increase. With social isolation in full force in most parts of Victoria, we are grateful for the opportunities and connections that technology and the internet allow but we must remain alert to the dangers of the online world. Research from eSafety suggests that one in four people in Australia have been contacted by someone they don’t know. Some of this is, of course, harmless but at times this contact can be inappropriate or unsafe.
Below are 6 key safety tips from the office of the eSafety commissioner for keeping our students safe online:
1. Use parental controls
Parental controls are software tools that allow you to monitor and limit what your child sees and does online. They can be set up to block your child from accessing specific websites, apps or functions (like using a device’s camera), filter different kinds of content — such as ‘adult’ or sexual content, monitor your child’s use of connected devices, with reports on the sites they visit and the apps they use, and set time limits, blocking access after a set time.
While parental controls can be effective tools to help control and limit what your child does online, it’s important to remember they are not foolproof – there is no substitute for active parental engagement and oversight of a child’s online activities.
See Taming the Technology for more information on how to set up parental controls on the home wi-fi network, devices, through third-party software, or in apps and programs.
2. Set time limits
With most school-aged children using online platforms or programs for schoolwork, ensuring a healthy balance between non-school related online activities and offline time is more important than ever.
During non-school hours at home, it’s a good idea to establish time limits around when and for how long your child can be online. For example, your child can play their favourite online game for one hour per night, once schoolwork is complete and dinner is finished. Rather than simply imposing these rules, talk to your children about them first and why they are important.
Depending on your child’s age, you can also look at establishing a family tech agreement or family plan that balances time spent in front of screens with offline activities. While extra curricula activities like sport or drama may be limited right now, look to include ‘offline’ activities in your routine at home – this can include family exercise, reading time or a fun activity like a board game.
And don’t forget to reduce your own time online to model positive behaviour!
3. Stay in open areas of the home
Device-free zones in the home can help you monitor and manage who your child interacts with online.For example, you can establish rules like:
- no devices in the bedroom or bathroom
- all screens off at least one hour before planned bedtime
- all family members switch off at dinner time
- devices charged overnight in a place your child cannot access.
While we know you can’t physically monitor your child’s online activities 24/7, establishing rules around using technology and devices in common areas of the home, like the kitchen or family room, helps limit the risk of them being groomed into taking or sharing sexual images or videos with predators.
4. Know the apps and games your kids are using
Check that apps, games and social media sites are age-appropriate for your child.
Look out for messaging or online chat as well as location-sharing within apps, games or social media accounts – these can expose your child to unwanted contact and reveal their physical location. There may be an option to switch these features off or limit chats to friends-only.
The eSafety Guide includes information to help parents and carers choose safer apps and report and block unwanted contact and sexual approaches.
5. Turn on privacy settings
Check the privacy settings on the games and apps your child is using and make sure their profiles are turned on to the strictest privacy setting. Restricting who can contact your child or making it friends-only helps to limit unwanted contact.
Talk to your child about accepting friend requests from people they may not know but have friends in common with. People are not always who they say they are online — a determined predator will befriend several children from the same school to gain the group’s trust.
6. Co-view and co-play
Most importantly, remember to take time to co-view and co-play with your children online. Engaging in their online lives is the best way to understand what they are doing online and why they enjoy an app or game. It also provides the perfect opportunity to start conversations about online safety.
You might even enjoy it and learn a thing or two!
Head to eSafety Parents for more strategies and advice to help keep children safe online.
Kristen Waldron
Free Webinar
To help parents and carers build family resilience in these difficult times, the Department is presenting a free webinar by renowned child psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg. This webinar will give families some practical skills, knowledge and strategies for managing the lockdown period and remote learning.
Around Australia Challenge
Mr Drummond’s Update:
Oh no, the Around Australia Challenge has been plunged into controversy. Apparently a civic-minded steward gave Laidlaw the wrong directions in Burketown sending them on their return journey via Mt Isa when he was supposed to point them in an easterly direction towards Cairns. When, on arriving in Mt Isa, another smirking steward pointed out the error of their ways, some bystanders commented on how the Laidlaw faces bore a close resemblance to the Berry House tops. On their return they also lost valuable time trying to take a short cut to Normanton and getting bogged in the mudflats. They’re in Cairns now just in time to see Melbourne play Sydney Swans at Cazaly Stadium (why would you bother?).
Spurred on by Laidlaw’s taunts, and by the knowledge they were fairly sure Laidlaw was heading in the wrong direction, the other three Houses powered ahead. There are rumours that money changed hands between some individuals in green tops and a certain civic-minded steward in the Burketown IGA carpark.
Young are now wandering the Bruce Hwy somewhere between Mackay and Rockhampton and Learmonth spent the night in Rockhampton’s finest, The Criterion.
Berry have been toying with the opposition so far, and on this leg displayed the talent that saw them win House Aths. No closed border would stop this lot – last night they relaxed in the charming little hamlet of Sawtell, just south of Coffs Harbour.
Kristen Waldron