Warning To North East Parents Over Online Safety

Do YOU know how safe your kids are online?

A Northumberland mum is calling for North East parents to start speaking to their children about web safety at an earlier age.

It's as research from YouGov says parents across our region are not treating web safety in the same way they would talking to strangers or bullying.

A study claims children here spend an average of four and a half hours a week online, with research suggesting that although stranger danger is usually explained to children from four years old, and on average bullying is spoken about from the age of five, online safety is put off until they are ten.

Karen Hill from Morpeth says that is too late.

"Let's face it how many times have you seen a child in a buggy playing on a mobile phone? They are starting literally in the pram. Children now are brought up with technology from the cradle."

The research also highlighted that on average, parents thought it was right to talk to kids about everyday ‘real world’ issues such as stranger danger and bullying. But, when it comes to similar issues online, such as chatting to strangers on the web or cyber-bullying, on average parents felt that these conversations could wait until their children are at least nine.

The NSPCC and O2 are now introducing a partnership, as a dedicated helpline is being will be launched aiming to help parents navigate the digital world safely.

Experts will be on hand to give them the technical advice they need including how to set privacy settings and parental controls.