Police warn Christmas gadgets can be a gateway for online predators
Weston Town Council has launched a number of online services. Picture: Fizkes - Credit: Archant
Parents have been warned by Avon and Somerset Police about the perils of online safety after gifting their children phones and gadgets for Christmas.
Police revealed in a social media post they have seen a rise in young people across North Somerset being approached by sexual predators online and on gaming platforms.
The Facebook post read: "Many children and young people will have received new devices and computer games for Christmas. But do you know what your child is doing online?
"Even if a game or app has a PGEI rating that is suitable for your child, you still need to monitor it carefully.
"Many have chat and message functions that can enable anyone to talk and interact with your child online."
Police have also outlined some checks parents can carry out to ensure their child is safe online.
These include checking the privacy, location and parental controls on devices that the child uses, checking the direct message and chat functions on apps and games to see who they are interacting with and use parental controls and in-game settings to manage chat functions.
For more information on specific age groups, log on to www.thinkuknow.co.uk
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