Online Green Cross Code for kids
The new measures drawn up by the UK Council for Child Internet Safety are critical for a new generation hooked on the internet, comments Jason Glynn, communications expert at uSwitch.com.
"We welcome today's announcement that pupils as young as five will be taught how to stay safe on the internet. With children shunning traditional playtime activities in favour of going online, this initiative is critical for their safety.
"Our own research shows that children now spend on average ten hours a week online outside of school hours. What's more, nearly a third of children have a computer in their bedroom, making it virtually impossible for parents to have 100 per cent control over what they are being exposed to online.
"In fact, just 41% of parents say they always supervise their children online - the majority leave it up to their children to decide which websites to visit, based on guidelines they have been set or plain common sense. More worrying is that a third of parents have not set up any filters or blocks on their home internet, potentially leaving children completely unprotected.
"For better or for worse, we have a new generation of internet addicts and we have a duty to arm children with the necessary information to enjoy the internet but use it safely. 60 per cent of the country now has broadband - nearly 17 million homes - and the Government is working hard to bring this up to 100 per cent by 2012. But if we are not careful, children could become the casualties of the Digital Britain that the Government has been working so hard to achieve.
"In the meantime, in an age where engaging content such as on-demand TV will only increase the amount of hours our children spend online, we urge parents to contact their internet providers to see what controls are available to them. Speed and price should take second place to safety - but with most broadband services including filtering software for free, there really is no excuse not to take action."
Protect your family with broadband filters:
AOL enables customers to set up parental controls for free. Controls can offer a different level of security for each member of the family, allowing children more freedom to roam the internet as they grow older.
BT has teamed up with McAfee® to offer all BT Total Broadband Option 2, 3, or Broadband Anywhere customers BT NetProtect Plus at no extra cost.
Orange has teamed up with McAfee to offer McAfee Privacy Service with parental controls, free to all Orange Broadband customers.
O2 offers security software from McAfee at no extra cost, which along with parental control settings includes anti virus protection and spam filters.
Sky Parental Alert, costing £3.50 a month or £35 a year, monitors children's Instant Messaging (IM) or chat room conversations for grooming patterns and alerts you via email or text message when those patterns are detected.
Talk Talk offers the first 30 days free of its Super Boost top up, with award-winning security on up to 3 computers. The F-secure technology then costs £2 per month.
Tiscali's Crisp technology costs £3.50 per month. It scans instant messages for grooming behaviour and complements existing parental controls and filters for internet chat and social networking sites. Parents are alerted to problem conversations.
Virgin Media broadband packages come with free PCguard Total internet security, including firewall, pop-up blocker and parental control, updated regularly.