The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre has launched an education programme to help parents keep their children safe online.

Purely for Parents is claimed by CEOP to be Britain’s first police-inspired education programme. It can be viewed online or through special parent evenings at schools.

The guidelines aim to bring parents and guardians up to speed with the way children use the internet by explaining terminology such as instant messaging and blogging, as well as listing risks linked with such activities and what parents can do to minimise them.

Guidance available to parents through downloadable leaflets includes asking a child to demostrate how to use instant messenging, or explaining to them the dangers of giving out personal information online.

According to Jim Gamble, a representative for CEOP and a police officer dealing with sexual abuse of children on the internet, over eight million children go online regularly with many parents unaware of what they are getting up to.

“We all know that young people are uploading, downloading, file sharing and blogging but do we really know to what extent they are entering this new world, what online identities they are building, what virtual friends they are making?” he said.

“It really is time to catch up and get our minds around these new terminologies, these ever-emerging opportunities, and instead of facing them with fear we face them with informed opinion and intelligent understanding."