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Teaching primary school children how to keep protected on the Internet while having fun

Symantec, makers of Norton Internet security software, has teamed up with Perform, the UK’s largest drama school exclusively for primary age children, to teach children how to stay safe on the Internet in a fun and lively way.

As the government announces the formation of The UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) this month, the importance of children’s safety online is being recognised at a national level. Reporting directly to the Prime Minister, the Council will help to improve the regulation and education around internet use, tackling problems around online bullying, safer search features, and violent video games following recommendations from Dr Tanya Byron’s report ‘Safer Children in a Digital World’.

By bringing the issues into the schools, Symantec can help educate the pupils, teachers and parents of the dangers on being online and how to tackle them.

‘Zak and Zara’s Cyberspace Adventure’ theatre production has been created by Perform exclusively for Symantec UK as part of its Norton Family Online Safety Initiative. The performance will be shown to more than 10,000 children in primary schools across London and the Home Counties to teach them, while having fun, ways to use the Internet in a safe and responsible manner.

Zak & Zara’s Cyberspace Adventure is a colourful story set in the future on Planet Disco. The children will meet the Space-Age family, their talking computer, Chip, and the nasty Green Alien while learning key online safety messages around topics such as cyber-bullying and using chat-rooms safely.

For more information or practical advice for parents and children on staying safe online then please visit the Norton Family Online Safety resource web site www.norton.com/uk/familyresource. A free guide with tips on Internet safety is also available via the site.

Parents trust their children – as long as they keep in touch

Parental fears about children’s safety may not be as great as frenzied media reports would seem to imply. While parents express an understandable degree of concern for children who are out and about, a new survey reveals that the majority of mums and dads trust their children to be responsible and stay safe.

The principal worry for parents is the possibility that their child might fall in with a bad crowd, with 41% expressing this concern, and 38% are worried by reports of knife crime. However only one in ten parents expresses misgivings about their child getting involved with drugs, and less than 3% worry about their children having sex, according to the research by PleaseCallMe.

It seems that parents today trust their children’s own judgement when they’re out and about, so long as they regularly check in. What actually worries them most is not hearing from their children when they’re away from home. Eight out of ten parents say that knowing their child can keep in touch with them on their mobile phone gives them peace of mind.

That said, over half of mums and dads say they have received the excuse from their child that they failed to contact them when they were out because they’d run out of credit. So it’s no surprise to find that 82% of parents wish that there was some way their child could use his or her mobile when they had no credit.

Phoebus Van Deventer, managing director for PleaseCallMe, commented: “As a parent myself, I know how worrying it can be when your kids are out with their friends. I always feel much better knowing they can get in touch if they need anything but there is always the chance that they might run out of credit. That’s why we created the PleaseCallMe service.”

The service, which is designed for children with a mobile phone, enables a message that says ‘pleasecallme’ or a personalised text message to be sent by a child, even on a pay as you go phone with no credit . The cost of 50p is paid by the parent and is substantially less than a standard reverse charge call, some of which charge £3.50 for the first 30 seconds and 50p per 30 seconds thereafter.

To register or for further information visit www.pleasecallme.mobi

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With busy days between now and Christmas family time can often fall by the wayside.



Children's food guru Annabel Karmel and Charmin have created the following tips for busy mums to help them spend more quality time with their families:

1. Eating together means you spend at least 30 minutes sitting down talking and communicating – but don’t use mealtimes as a time to lecture your child as you want to encourage your child to enjoy these times with you.

2. Read the same books as your child so that you can talk about them and encourage a love of reading. Stimulate reluctant readers by reading a bedtime story but stopping at a crucial part so that your child wants to carry on reading on their own before they fall asleep.

3. Find something your child is passionate about and join in. If you want to spend quality time with your children, be interested in what they like to do.

4. Children like being part of the adult world so give them simple tasks that an adult would normally do, such as searching on the internet to find out what local films are on or helping you prepare the family meal and laying the table.

5. Encourage arts and crafts using everyday objects around the house - carve out raised designs in potatoes. Your children can brush poster paints over the design or stamp them on an ink pad and press firmly on to paper. Sliced citrus fruits and even onions also make lovely prints

Have fun!