Hi, you empower by providing information to children and young people and not being judgemental, having a setting that recognises the importance of confidence, resillience, adults approachability, personal choice, children's own decision making and ideas. You can know, understand and promote children's rights. Have a working ethos and positive relationship with children and their families so that they know they are valued, listened to, respected and supported. You can be part of the planning process so that activities explore individual interests, current news, raise awareness of risk, risky situations and balancing that risk against child's rights with practitioner's training & knowledge of options/what to do if children find themselves in any situation where they feel scared, vulnerable, uncomfortable, or have been hurt. You can also make sure that children know they are to call on others for help & assistance whenever they are in need and that everyone works together in your setting to ensure children find ways that they can protect themselves.
There are a few threads on 7.1 - enter '
e-safety '
into the search page
Risks include: loss of personal information that gives others the opportunity to abuse it - passwords & contact details, cyberbullying and digital victimisation, grooming, suicide and murder.
Effects of bullying thread
Reducing the risk is about the setting's safeguarding procedures, sharing information so that children know these dangers and what they can about them in order to protect themselves.
Sources of reading:Ways to empower children:
http://www.silkysteps.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13139
Hth