Top tips to keep your children safe online
GERI’S dress was itsy bitsy, Jarvis got all uppity, Justin grabbed Kyie’s butt while poor John Prescott was more than a Brits cheesed off when he got a soaking.
Yes, it’s time for the Brit Awards – 40 years since the very first award. And boy, haven’t they changed since being launched in 1977 to celebrate the best of British music.
Back then, Queen won best single of the previous 25 years for Bohemian Rhapsody, sharing the award with Procol Harum’s A Whiter Shade Of Pale.
But the bash at Wembley Conference Centre was anything but rock and roll.
The awards marked the Queen’s Silver Jubilee and winners included Sir Cliff Richard, Dame Shirley Bassey and Simon and Garkfunkel. They didn’t liven up much in the 1980s, with Tory Norman Tebbit presenting an award despite admitting: “I don’t understand pop”.
But in the 1990s a new wave of musicians turned the event into must-see, car crash TV.
In 1996 Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker mooned at Michael Jackson. Spice Girl Geri Halliwell wore her famous Union Jack dress a year later, while Chumbawamba’s Danbert Nobacon tipped an ice bucket over Labour politician and Sunday Mirror columnist Lord Prescott in 1998.
So can we expect more antics from stars at London’s O2 on Wednesday, where Adele and Rag’n’Bone Man are among the favourites? Maybe... they’re only human, after all. Model and singer Samantha Fox and Feetwood Mac’s Mick Fleetwood fluffed their lines and missed their cues as guests arrived on stage at the wrong time. British electronic band The KLF caused controversy by firing blanks from an automatic weapon over the crowd and dumping a dead sheep at the entrance to an after-party. Not amewesing. Freddie Mercury and his pals from Queen were on their best behaviour receiving the Best Single award from TV host Michael Aspel at the first Brits – which marked The Queen’s Silver Jubilee. Despite his diminutive stature, 5ft 2ins Prince was a big star. He won five Best International Artist awards over the years and is seen flanked by 6ft 8ins guard “Big Chick” Huntsberry. MOST parents think their kids spend far too much time on phones and tablets. But research has revealed that almost half of UK children are scared or worried about going online.
Around one in five youngsters fear strangers might bully them or ask them to do something they are uncomfortable with.
And more than a third admit they have regretted posting something online.
So here are six essential tips to keep your children safe on computers, tablets or phones – courtesy of David Emm, from cyber security firm Kaspersky Lab. He says: Talk to them about their online experiences and the potential dangers. Set clear ground rules about what they can and cannot do – and make sure you review them as they get older. Decide how much time they can spend online and what sort of activity should be blocked using parental control software. Use settings to block in-app purchases. This Steady on there, now, Justin! A young Mr Timberlake grabs Kylie Minogue’s bum as they perform at the awards, then held at London’s Earls Court. will stop them landing you with hefty bills when they play games, for example.
Protect their devices by using security software that will reduce the risks they are exposed to online. Providers may offer apps to filter out inappropriate content or senders of nuisance texts.
Make use of the great advice for parents and carers that is available on the internet by checking out websites such as saferinternet.org and thinkuknow.co.uk