Community & Business
11 July, 2025
Parents informed on cyber safety
LOCAL parents learned all about the digital world and how to keep their children safe at a seminar held in Mareeba recently.
The Raising Kids in a Digital World seminar, held at the Mareeba International Club, was hosted by Inform and Empower, an award-winning, internationally recognised, and trusted e-safety provider based in Melbourne.
They host online “incursions” (contrary to excursions) for primary schools across the country and also hold seminars for parents and carers to equip them with the tools and knowledge needed to keep their children safe online.
They share evidence-based strategies, practical tips, up-to-date insights and cover topics such as social media, impacts of screen time, online gaming, cyberbullying, child/tween online trends, and explicit/adult content.
The seminar was presented by company founder Marty McGauran, who has an experienced background in primary school teaching, along with his sister Carley, who has more than 20 years’ experience as a psychologist.
“Our program is designed to support primary schools because navigating the online world is something a lot of schools find a bit difficult,” Mr McGauran said.
The parent and carer seminars deal with the same topics as those presented to primary school children but engage in more in-depth discussions.
“It’s our chance to present parents and carers with the same topics but at a very adult level where we can really pull no punches and share the real tricky truth around the risks online,” he said.
“But also importantly, we’re teaching them how to navigate that space and what they can do at home to help keep the kids safe and healthy.
“The online environments where the kids spend time are really unfamiliar to the parents. They aren’t aware of simple things like the fact that in most games there is chat with all the other players and that the games can be very adult themed as well.
“So, understanding the environment is something we would encourage all parents to get their head around.”
Mr McGauran said there was a good turnout to the seminar, but he “would always love to see more attend”.
“A lot came up afterwards to ask questions and thank us for shedding light on the information, which was good,” he said.
The seminar was made free for locals thanks to sponsorship from Bendigo Community Bank Mareeba and Dimbulah.
For any parents or carers interested in what was spoken about at the seminar, a link to the presentation can be obtained by contacting either Mareeba State School, St Thomas Catholic School, St Anthony’s Catholic School, or Dimbulah State School.
