Ten things every parent should do

1. Become confident using computers yourself. It's important that you are able to talk to your child about technology and the web.
2. Use filtering software to reduce the amount of spam you receive and the likelihood that your child will view pornographic images. Use parental controls that will only allow your child online at times you decide
3. Sign up to an ISP that offers a 'walled garden' within which your child can surf monitored and evaluated information and websites.
4. Keep the computer in a communal area of the house so it is easier to monitor what your children are viewing.
5. Tell children not to give out their personal details. If they want to subscribe to services online, make sure they know to use a family email address to do this.
6. Make sure your child only uses moderated chat rooms and encourage them to introduce you to their online friends.
7. Encourage your children to tell you if they feel uncomfortable, upset or threatened by anything they see online.
8. Establish a family code for internet use with your child. Get them to agree to the hours they will surf, the sites they will visit and the kinds of information they will look for. Trust them to tell you if they stumble across something they shouldn't have so you can remove it from your browser's history.
9. The web is a great place to research homework, but try to discourage cut-and-pasting of material or too much downloading and printing. Written notes are better, and some selected pages.
10. Surf together. Go online with younger children and ask about what older children do online just as you would if they have been out somewhere. The key to safe surfing is communication.