While teaching kids to stay safe has traditionally focused on areas such as swimming, driving, sun protection, and fire safety, with 2.2 million Australian kids now using the internet and the reported cases of cyber-bullying on the increase, it means learning how to be safe online is now just as relevant for kids (and adults too, for that matter).

Over the Australia Day weekend I went to the Telstra-sponsored three-day CQID Indigenous Reconciliation Carnival in Rockhampton, Queensland, where almost 10,000 spectators came to watch 40 rugby league teams play off for a grand prize of $30,000. The main aim of the carnival is to use rugby league to raise awareness about reconciliation, health promotion, employment, training and social issues affecting Indigenous people.

I spoke to one of the carnival founders, Woorabinda elder, Anthony Henry (also known as ‘Big Uncle’), about cyber-safety concerns in his community. He said that parents have a responsibility to teach their children to respect themselves and each other, but that some parents need assistance and support to teach their kids about how deal with anger before it escalates onto social media.

I couldn’t agree with Big Uncle more.

At 33 years of age, I’ve been using computers since primary school, but I certainly didn’t learn about the internet at school or even at university. We are all of a sudden living in an age where you might see babies playing with iPhones rather than rattles (or are they playing with a baby-rattle app?) and kids are teaching their parents how to use the web and computers. I think it’s fair to say we all need a bit of assistance to help our kids stay safe online.

I am proud to work for a company that is helping to make internet use a positive and safe experience, but it is the responsibility of everyone (parents, friends, teachers, elders, community role-models, governments and businesses) to talk to kids about how to use social media responsibly and manage cyber-bullying or harassment, as well as encourage kids to protect themselves online, so they can have fun and benefit from using the technology.

Watch my vlog report from the CQID Indigenous Reconciliation Carnival on YouTube, where I also spoke with NRL legend and this year’s carnival coordinator, Justin Loomans, about the carnival’s use of social media; and caught up with Telstra’s Lo Murphy, Installer Repairer with Service Delivery based in Rockhampton, about cyber-safety.

See all the action from the rugby games on Flickr, as well as Central Queensland’s AGM, Doug McClure, presenting the Telstra Cup.

Find out which rugby team won the grand prizes on the CQID Indigenous Reconciliation Carnival Facebook page

How you can help your kids be safe online:

• Read Telstra’s Internet and Cyber-safety guide for tips and advice on how to stay safe
• Check out the governments new Easy Guide to Socialising Online tool