How The CEOP Button Can Save Children On The Internet

My Kid! she surprises me everyday with something different. We have taken to co sleeping again this winter because it is so cold, and she gets cold and lonely at nights. Last night we were in bed together and she started to tell me about internet security. Now I do bang on at her how to stay safe on the internet but I am too scared of scaring her too much and making the internet and evil place - because it isn't. She has seen both sides of the scale, Mummy has a blog and shares lots on the internet, but on the other side of the scale her sister and niece were victims to the internet.

The Internet is a wonderful thing, without the internet I would never have found support when I had PND. The local NHS let me down badly and there was no support but I found it online and I am still friends with the people I met online. That is how the internet works for you, Don't ever use the internet to self diagnose yourself though! How many times have we had a headache and then self diagnosed a brain tumour?
But getting back to Tilly and her internet experience, she explained to me that there are CEOP buttons on some children's websites these days and if you feel like you're in danger, you press the button. This then reports the bad experience to the right authorities. How did I not even know about this button? How many other parents don't know about the button? CEOP is short for The Child Exploitation and Online Protection, these guys are the ones responsible for bringing online sex offenders to justice and helping to keep our kids safe, Don't forget that its not just kids of Tilly's age that are at risk, my older daughter was 16 when she was groomed. Still a child in the eyes of the law, yet I thought she was old enough to use the internet without supervision - I made an unwise choice.
Even without the CEOP button, you can go to their website and report a page.

Stock Image Pixabay/lcr3cr

I knew that the NSPCC had been in to school to talk about online safety, but I didn't pressure Tilly to tell me about it. I knew she would in her own time. She talked to me about how you should never give out your full name and personal details to anyone online, because you never know who is really on thew other end of the internet. She told me that people pretend to be someone else to gain your trust, then ask to meet you. THIS IS WRONG. This is when the CEOP button comes into play. So although Tilly is 6 years old, here is some advice from her.

If anyone wants your name or details, press the CEOP button or turn the tablet or phone over and go and get a grown up

If anyone says anything scary to you, press the CEOP button or turn the tablet or phone over and go and get a grown up

If anyone asks to meet you, press the CEOP button or turn the tablet or phone over and go and get a grown up.

If anyone seems like they are not really as friendly as they seem, press the CEOP button or turn the tablet or phone over and go and get a grown up.

If anyone is pressuring you to reveal things about yourself that you don't feel comfortable with press the CEOP button or turn the tablet or phone over and go and get a grown up

If anyone asks for pictures of you press the CEOP button or turn the tablet or phone over and go and get a grown up.

Tilly did say to me that she is sad that her sister didn't know about the CEOP button or the help she could get from the police, and it is sad that as well as all the other stresses and dangers that kids have to face everyday, they also have to face problems online too. When I look back to my childhood, all we had to worry about was stranger danger, and not get in a van with a man who promises to show you some puppies! Now there seems so many more dangers in the world for our kids. We can all put child safety features on to computers, limit our kids phone data, take tablets away from them at bedtime - but kids will always find a way to get online! They will ask friends to go online for them. The best thing you can do is discuss internet safety with your children, you need to make sure that they can come to you if they feel like they are in danger.

We have been using this website www.thinkuknow.co.uk to watch age appropriate video's about how to use the internet safely and also it has links to Childline. If you are worried about a child online, you can also contact CEOP and share your worries, between us we can all work towards making it harder for online sex offenders to reach our children.