Guidelines to safe surfing of the internet for parents
As a communication tool the Internet acts as an excellent form of research and entertainment for kids, guiding their personal growth and development.

As a provider of entertainment and education, BBC Worldwide recognises our responsibility to provide a safe Internet experience for children every time they log on.

It is for this reason that we do not provide third party information to any of our sponsors. You can rest assured in the knowledge that information provided over the Girl Talk website is secure and safe, accessed by BBC Worldwide staff for the purpose that it was provided only.

That said there can be a lot of unscrupulous websites and people on the Internet, so we realise it is of the utmost importance to protect children from being exposed to these.

This can be hard to do with the Internet being such a wide uncontrolled source of information, however some tips to remember when allowing your child to use the Internet are:

Internet content
Make sure to keep a watchful eye over what sites your children are viewing. Internet content viewing can be monitored and restricted via a range of tools readily available.

Limiting internet time
It is important for your child to be able to navigate the web, but it is also important that you make sure other activities in their lives do not suffer because of overuse of the Internet. Encourage them to not neglect other activities such as socialising and participating in activities like sport.

Who are your kids making contact with?
Make sure that you know who your children are befriending via the Internet, how much personal information they give out and to whom. Don't allow them to meet up with strangers face to face.

Your involvement
The best way to learn to navigate the Internet is by making use of the Internet yourself. By knowing what you're doing on the Internet, you can keep updated on how your children use it and it can become a family activity where information and knowledge is shared between you.

See it as a beneficial communication tool
Take some time to source some websites that you think your children will enjoy and find useful, whether for entertainment or educational purposes. This way you can monitor what they are viewing more closely and have some piece of mind in knowing that it is safe for them.