TALK Checklist by Internet Watch Foundation

The Internet Watch Foundation has released a checklist for parents concerned about the safety of their children online. In their own words:

Does your home have an open door to child sexual abusers?

Increasingly, young people are being contacted in their own homes on online platforms and apps and asked for sexual pictures and videos, while their parents and carers are totally unaware.

There is a significant rise in children being groomed and coerced online by abusers into sexual activities often in their own bedrooms and bathrooms. Those abusers record this content via webcams or livestreaming services and share it across their networks online. This type of child sexual abuse is now the predominant type of sexual abuse imagery found on the internet.

This is happening now, and it can happen to anyone’s child. But you can do something about it; you can help prevent it happening to your child.

You can get a copy of the checklist from their site. I am happy to see the emphasis on talking to your children on a consistent basis and making sure you understand what they are doing online and the technology they are using. I’ve often said the best thing you can do to protect kids online is not to install some kind of filter, but to understand and be involved in what they are doing. This will help.