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This day I love.......

Last week was a very surreal week indeed.  During my daughters gymnastic lesson I received an email saying ITV would be at our house in 30 minutes.  The piece they were shooting for was to do with screen time in children, and in particular for internet safety day.  Both my 6 and 4 year old have a tablet, and my eldest has access to one of my old laptops, so we are more than qualified to talk about screen time in children.


We have many security features in place to try and limit the exposure or access the girls have.  The main screen on their tablets are kids only, they need a code to access the internet and we have safety features on the network too.  However there are times when one of them is unsupervised on the internet.  

The girls each have homework from school and often the best way for them to practise is to access on online resource.  I may therefore start one of them working on this online resource whilst working 1:1 with their sister on another task, before switching over.  Whilst neither of them, to my knowledge, has deviated from the task they have set, the potential to do so does exist.  This unsupervised access to the internet does have some structure but it still remains unsupervised.  There is however no other way to fit in the amount of homework each child has to complete, plus family time and our other activities.  

This week I have also dug out the tuff spot.  I felt it was time to introduce Little Man to messy play, and we started off with water.  He was unsure at first, I think more to do with why we were doing this but then he got stuck in.



It wasn't long before the floor was covered in water and he has the biggest smiles!  Safe to say we will be doing more messy play over the next few weeks.


Little Man seems to have a real love for water and given how much he enjoyed messy play last week I can certainly see it featuring a lot more and probably a lot more water based play!


This day I love the week with the news and the water
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Both my girls are very lucky in that Father Christmas gave them tablets for Christmas last year.  I am guessing they are not alone in owning tablets as most of their friends seem to have an iPad or at the very least have access to one.  Those that do not own one have probably asked for one for Christmas.  It would appear that our children are becoming very technology focused.


This is neither a good or bad thing, however as a parent we still want out children to be safe online and also where possible control/limit/manage the time spent online.  I know that if my girls use their tablets within an hour of bedtime they just cannot sleep.  The use of the internet and their tablets is the cause of many arguments in our house and I am guessing we are not alone.

HomeHalo offers a solution to the arguments and gives us total control over the internet usage for each different member in our household.  Each person has a profile, which you can then control the times of the day they can access the internet, turn on a homework mode to block certain distracting content and ensure age appropriate content for each profile.  You can set an 'Unlimited' profile to give you unrestricted access for your own profile setting if you wish.  HomeHalo uses cloud technology so it can be accessed anywhere using the app or via a web browser. 


We have been using the HomeHalo system and it has not affected our existing services and has worked with all our wifi devices.  We found everything really simple to set up and it only took a few steps.  I was a little worried it might be over complicated but it was really easy to follow the instructions and get going.  HomeHalo also offers Internet security so protects against virus and malicious software.

Homehalo is certainly worth having to help give you extra security and peace of mind when your children access the Internet.  I know in our household we have found it useful in particular to control the times the girls can access the Internet. 

  
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When the UK's four biggest broadband providers, BT, Sky, Virgin Media and TalkTalk, join forces to create an online space for parents to navigate the Internet safely with their children, the project is surely set to become a household name.  Internet Matters is this place.  

Internet Matters features some great ideas of how to navigate the Internet safely, from 0 to teens and is split into helpful age group guides.  There are sections on how to cope with the negative side of the Internet, as well as technologies available.  The aim of Internet Matters is to Learn about it, talk about it and deal with it. 

internet matters

As a parent to two young girls I see how much technology has already made an impact on their lives.  They recently were exposed to a non touch screen laptop and the first thing they both did was swipe the screen with their finger.  Then pinch to try and expand and zoom the screen, before declaring it not working.  At the ages of 3 and 2, this shows me that technology is a big part of their lives.

I do worry about the sites they can access, or even their online presence, especially as I blog about their lives.  I am glad to know I am not alone as research by Internet Matters shows that 74% of parents want more information and advice about online safety and 48% would prefer this information to be available online.  Internet matters provides this one stop hub for help, pulling together leading experts, charities and organisations.  The idea is to allow parents to make an informed decisions and not to scare parents.

I personally really like Internet Matters and have already picked up a few good tips of making the Internet safer for my 3 year old.  

This post is written as part of my commitment as a TalkTalk family blogger. 
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Safer Internet Day took place today and it is aiming to create a better internet together.  As a parent I do often wonder about how safe the internet really is.  Its one of the reasons I try to keep details about my children private.  I wonder what the internet will be like as they grow up.  The internet has changed so much in such a short space of time, but one thing has always remained the same, you can be anyone on-line.

The internet lends itself to 'pretending to be' someone or something you are not.  Whilst its a great way to keep in touch with friends and family, and an amazing resource to discover information it also can be a cruel and scary place as we have seen all to often recently in the media.  As people hide behind the computer/tablet/smart phone screen and become anything they want, some it provides a way to gain confidence, a no fear approach, which can lead to some very hurtful experiences.

Whilst these external influences I can only do so much to control.  I can talk to my girls and encourage them to talk to me.  Whilst also encouraging them to be open with me and build trust.  I can do more to protect other internet security.

As a TalkTalk customer I can activate HomeSafe.  Homesafe once activated, allows me as a parent to control the websites, that any device connected to the network can access.  All I need to do to switch on is to log into my TalkTalk account.  Its free to use and a great way to be given piece of mind about the types of sites that are accessed.

TalkTalk also currently have a quiz developed with 1000 7-14 year olds, to see how your internet knowledge stacks up and discover your internet age.  Well I took the quiz and lets just say I am going to keep the result to myself! 
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About Me

Welcome to This Day I love.

My name is Leyla, also known as Mum to my 3 humans and dog Mum to J. I have a passion for the outdoors and love to run. I can often be found off road exploring the trails and fells and covering distances all the way up to 50 miles. As a family we love travelling and discovering new adventures, as I try and run around the world!

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