Brett-Lee-5-Principles

5 PRINCIPLES TO
STAY SAFE ONLINE
BY BRETT LEE
Table Of Contents
INTRO
The Five Principles to Implement 1
SAFEGUARD ONE
Set Rules And Boundaries 2
SAFEGUARD TWO
Stay Current 3
SAFEGUARD THREE
Parents, Take Charge 4
SAFEGUARD FOUR
Use Management Tools 5
SAFEGUARD FIVE
Communicate 6
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
Screen Resolution by Brett Lee 7
QUESTIONS?
Contact Us 8
INTRO
THE 5 PRINCIPLES
TO IMPLEMENT
The following 5 principles/safeguards will assist and empower parents, carers, educators
and other professionals charged with the care of children in creating a safe, fun and
educational online environment for our youth whilst reducing risk and issues.
1
SAFEGUARD ONE
Set Rules and Boundaries
These are not optional.
Parents and children have rules and boundaries in every area of their lives. Rules don’t stop
them having fun; they protect them from themselves and others. Parents can be confident
they are making a difference by putting rules in place. Rules can be changed if it is found
they don’t suit. As children grow, parents should not be afraid to modify a rule, taking care
not to move outside their values, beliefs, morals and ethics. Rules and boundaries provide
security, letting children know where they stand.
The rules must be enforced or there is no point having them. They will not be taken as
seriously if they can be continually broken unchallenged. On the other hand, it is not
weakness to allow a couple more minutes playing a game.
General rules might include:
• Time limits and curfews

• An understanding of what language is acceptable
• Guidelines on where in the home technology can and can’t be used
• What websites, games and apps can be used
• What to do if something of concern happens or a mistake is made.
2
SAFEGUARD TWO
Stay Current
Parents should increase their knowledge base as needed.
This does not mean staying current with all technology, only technology relevant to the
family. Parents of five-year-old children do not necessarily need to know about Facebook
yet. Staying current does not require parents becoming technology experts. It involves being
across what children generally do on the internet, staying current by learning:
• What devices can connect to the internet

• When those devices are connected
• Where kids are going online and what programs and games they are using
• Who they are connected to.
Parents stay current by talking to their children and other adults, seeking advice or asking
questions from teachers and schools, and seeking information online.
3
SAFEGUARD THREE
Parents, Take Charge
You are the one who controls technology and make the final decisions.
This is not about ‘mistrusting’ children; it is about acknowledging that they are children,
they look at the world through different eyes and may not make the choices that are needed.
As children grow, parents can let them make choices with less guidance but ensure their
choices remain consistent with family requirements. The main decisions parents need to
make surround:
• When technology is used

• Where technology is used
• What programs, apps and sites are allowable
• With whom a child can connect.
Don’t allow technology to take charge.
Do not believe that a program or website’s popularity, user numbers or profitability gives it
credibility or suitability.
4
SAFEGUARD FOUR
Use Management Controls
Parents have a right to know where their children go and whom they communicate with.
Most schools have software or programs designed to monitor online activity. They do this
because they have a duty of care for students. Parents also should have systems in place.
Parents whose family have been devastated by online issues would now use monitoring or
filtering software if they could turn back time and detect a potential problem early. They
have told me so.
There will be those who claim this is ‘spying’ on children, as though parents are doing
something wrong. Am I spying on my teenage daughter because I want to know where she is
going with her friends on Friday night and who will be there? Of course not. I need to know
this to make sure she is safe. When children become adults, they will not harbour a grudge;
they will thank their parent for caring enough to monitor their activity and most likely do
the same with their children.
Parental controls work on a device or account to monitor or control information or activity.

A variety of programs are available and some can be downloaded for free. More common
functions include:
• Blocking concerning websites

WARNING
• Setting time limits and ensuring curfews
Filtering or monitoring
• Recording web sites visited software should never be
• Recording conversations in certain programs relied on as a total solution
• Limiting the downloading of particular apps or a replacement for broader
parental oversight.
• Notifying a parent of concerning activity
If parents start using monitoring or filtering programs early, it will become a part of their
child’s online world. They will be accustomed to it at home, just as they can expect to
encounter it at school and then in the workplace.
5
SAFEGUARD FIVE
Communicate
Create an environment of openness about technology and talk about it with your kids.
This is one strategy every parent can achieve and is the most important and effective
safeguard against online issues. It is powerful to tell children, ‘If you have a problem on the
internet, or even if you make a mistake, I want you to talk to me about it and I promise I will
help you solve the problem so you can keep having a good time online.’
Healthy communication about technology occurs be seizing the opportunities:
• Take 10 minutes each day during school drop-off or pick-up.

• If you notice an unusual facial reaction after looking at a screen, ask what was that
all about and is everything okay.
• Have a chat around the dinner table about what’s happening online.
• Direct children to and discuss media articles about technology.
• Take other times to chat to children about what is happening online.
• Never underestimate the value of face to face communication. Research has shown
that families who sit around a dinner table at least three times a week and talk
are less likely to experience cyberbullying. The child ends up with a real feeling
of support. If a child sex offender approaches them online and learns that their
parents know about what happens on the internet, they will not hang around. As
children grow, the way parents communicate with them changes. When they are
young parents “tell” them; as children move into their teens, the tone changes
more to discussing, guiding and suggesting.
• Parents should never stop communicating. They should talk to their children,
other parents, friends, family and school teachers.
6
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
Screen Resolution by Brett Lee
A must-read for parents and carers.
Brett Lee has spent thousands of hours as an Internet detective pretending to be a teenager
online to hunt down and prosecute child sex offenders.
In Screen Resolution, Brett describes his experiences in real and powerful terms, profiling
predator behaviours and exposing their sinister intentions.
Often confronting and at times disturbing, Brett’s account will help you discern the truth behind
the screen and what you can to do to protect your families online.
Through reading this book, every family can achieve a safe and productive online environment.
BUY DIGITAL COPY BUY HARDCOVER
7
QUESTIONS?
Contact Us
https://www.internetsafeeducation.com/
Internet Safe Education

PO Box 135
Corinda, Queensland 4075, Australia
Ph: 1300 650 491 (Cost of a local call)
Ph: +61 7 31391181
Fax: +61 7 30364684
https://www.facebook.com/internetsafeed/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/internet-safe-education

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5 PRINCIPLES TO

STAY SAFE ONLINE

Set Rules and Boundaries

These are not optional.

weakness to allow a couple more minutes playing a game.

General rules might include:

• Time limits and curfews

Parents should increase their knowledge base as needed.

• What devices can connect to the internet

Parents, Take Charge

• When technology is used

Don’t allow technology to take charge.

Use Management Controls

Parental controls work on a device or account to monitor or control information or activity.

• Blocking concerning websites

Healthy communication about technology occurs be seizing the opportunities:

• Take 10 minutes each day during school drop-off or pick-up.

Screen Resolution by Brett Lee

A must-read for parents and carers.

BUY DIGITAL COPY BUY HARDCOVER

Internet Safe Education

Ph: 1300 650 491 (Cost of a local call)

Ph: +61 7 31391181

Fax: +61 7 30364684

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