CyberSafeKids invites Leitrim schools and families to take part in the annual 'CyberSafeKids' event

Ireland's online safety charity, CyberSafeKids, is delighted to be hosting its fourth annual CyberBreak from 5pm on Friday, October 20, to 5pm Saturday, October 21. 

CyberSafeKids is encouraging schools and families in Co. Leitrim to get on board and sign up now to participate in taking a much-needed 24-hour break from the online world. 

Recent CyberSafeKids research found that 93% of 8 - 12-year-olds own a smart device, and 84% are signed up for social media and messaging apps despite being under the minimum age requirement of 13 for all popular sites.  

Families should embrace the opportunity of having device-free time to discuss how they can find a healthy balance between their online and offline lives and make it a fun-filled and memorable day for the whole family. 

CyberBreak event is promoting: 

• Classroom Activities: short talks from Author and psychotherapist Richard Hogan on the benefits of taking a digital break for both primary and post-primary school-aged children, as well as some activity ideas to challenge pupils to think about life offline and what it was like in the olden days before smart devices.
• Family Fun Guide: over 38 fun ideas and delicious recipes from Lilly Higgins to help families plan their time offline.
• Top Online Safety Tips: tips for parents and caregivers to help keep your kids safer online.

Top tips for parents and caregivers include:

• Start the conversation now! As soon as your child shows interest in your phone or tablet, talk about what's okay and not okay to do online in an age-appropriate manner. Talk to your kids about what they do and see online as often as possible.
• Do your research: Check out the apps and games your child uses or wants to use. Download it yourself or watch videos on YouTube about it and see its functionality. Look, in particular, at whether it has a chat facility, how to apply safety /privacy settings and how to report abuse.
• Agree the rules: Put appropriate boundaries in place and apply them consistently, e.g. where they can use their devices, which can be on their friend's lists, what behaviour is acceptable, and not to share location. Most importantly, keep an eye on what your children are doing online.
• Check-in with your child: Ask what your child did online today; what videos did they look at? What games did they play? Who did they talk to? Check-in to see if they saw anything online that bothered them and reassure them that they can always come to you if they do experience or see something that upsets or scares them online.
• Try to ensure that your phone is one of the things you look at in the morning. Make it an active choice to do something else - stretching, meditating, eating breakfast.
• Avoid using your phone as an alarm clock (there are plenty of alternatives), and try to keep phones, iPads, laptops, etc., out of the bedroom so your device use doesn't interfere with your sleep.#
• Device-free mealtimes: try and make mealtimes, especially if it's with children, a device-free time.
• Switch on the "do not disturb mode" on your phone so you won't receive notifications, messages or calls for periods when you need to focus or switch off.
• Create a family agreement that everybody signs up to, which has identified device-free times - i.e. family movie/pizza nights on a Friday.

For more information on CyberBreak, please go to www.cybersakekids.ie.