Does your child use the internet to talk to their friends?

Do they have a Facebook account, or use yours unsupervised?

Do they have internet access on their mobile phones?

'Social networking' is the term used to describe online communication, such as on sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. They have the potential to allow members to communicate with people all over the world, either through messages posted on 'walls' or through instant chat services.

Facebook

We are aware that even though Facebook request the minimum age for a 'profile page' is 13, many of our Eldene pupils either have their own page, or use a page belonging to a family member to communicate with their friends.

Tips for parents:

 1) If your child does have his/her own page, ensure that their Privacy Settings are as private as possible. This can be changed in their Account Settings. Make sure that their photographs are set to 'Friends only' and that their Inbox is set to only receive messages from friends, otherwise anyone in the world could send them a private e-mail, whether your child has accepted them as a friend or not.

2) Make sure that your child has no personal information on their page that they would not like a stranger to know, such as their mobile phone number, date of birth or address.

3) If you are going to let your child use Facebook, ensure they do so in a supervised environment, and talk to them regularly about what they are doing on the site.

4) It is possible to remove friends from your child's friends list easily, if you feel they are not appropriate.