Internet Safety Lessons for the Very Young: A New British Campaign

From ChildLine.org

How do you teach Internet safety to a 5-year-old? And should kids as young as 5 be taught about dangers online? The British service ChildLine, part of the British charity NSPCC, says absolutely. 

"We are facing an e-safety time bomb," a spokesperson for the charity told the BBC last week. She said an increased number of young kids are reporting various and new forms of online abuse. Some 250 callers to ChildLine last year said they were being groomed for sex online, for example, the BBC reported. And there was a 70% hike in calls to the number about online pornography, with some callers being as young as 11. 

ChildLine is now holding assemblies in every primary school in the United Kingdom to teach children about staying safe online. Young people can also read ChildLine's "Online and Mobile Safety" tips, with information on gaming, sexting and more.

Continuing the discussion, Parenting.com offered its own tips for handling online safety with children as young as 5 in the February 7 article "How Young Is Too Young for Internet Safety?". "Just like we teach [our kids] to look both ways when crossing the street, we need to give them the tools they need to be safe online," the article advises.