10th February Safer Internet Day

So what is Safer Internet Day?  Well, the day, which has been organised by Insafe since 2005 is held on 10 February.  The purpose of this awareness day is to promote safe and responsible use of the internet. It aims to teach young people about how to keep themselves safe online.  And, of course, the use of the internet in a safe and responsible way is paramount! These days, most young people have access to the internet with their mobile phone, tablets or laptops.  So the day aims to raise awareness of online safety for young people.

Online safety is even of concern for parents of very young children, and I am often asked whether  there is  anything they can read with their child to start a discussion. I can think of many book titles where the theme is limiting the use of technology, but not so many about safety. I usually  recommend these two story books, but there must be others.

• Chicken Clicking by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross is a humorous story about a chicken who just keeps clicking on the farm's computer, managing to shop for all and sundry.

• The Internet is Like a Puddle by Shona Innes and Irisz Agocs is less of a story, but it does discuss some of the pitfalls associated with electronic communication.  Shona Innes is an Australian psychologist who has written four books marketed under the series name The Big Hug Books.


And if parents just want to read to inform themselves I suggest Internet Safety by Nick Hunter, keeping in mind that anything written about the internet is out of date by the time it is published because nothing to do with technology stands still.