The internet is increasingly present in the lives of Children and Young People and while it can be a great tool for socialising, communicating and a source of entertainment it is also presents risks of abuse or exploitation.
It is important that children and young people adopt safe practices while online and parents and carers remain aware of what their children are doing online and current risks so that risks can be reduced. Be aware that although you can block unsuitable content, blocks can be disabled or worked around.
New devices
It is important to adopt good practices and set boundaries during a child’s first time on the internet. This could be the moment they are bought a mobile phone, games console or laptop.
Setting up devices safely allows parental controls to be switched on that will help keep children safe online by blocking inappropriate content, managing apps that can be downloaded and providing an ability to monitor their use. Location sharing should also be turned off.
The same principle can be applied to setting up social network profiles like Instagram and Snapchat, YouTube Accounts and Online Gaming accounts on PlayStation or Xbox. Setting these profiles up with parental controls will again allow you to block any harmful content, prevent messages being received from strangers and keeping children’s content private, limited to their friends who have to send requests.
Each of these sites and apps has their own safety centre that can be accessed in the settings menu, providing more tips and settings to protect children online. Most apps and games also have a minimum age rating and it is important to look for this to see whether it is suitable for your child. [https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/articles/Parental-controls/]
SWGfL has a series of checklists on their website [https://swgfl.org.uk/resources/] to help you set up accounts safely.
AskAboutGames.com [http://www.askaboutgames.com/] provides a wide range of up-to-date advice on gaming as a family.
Gambling and micro-transactions
Many apps and video games now include ‘loot boxes’ or ‘microtransactions’ that allow users to pay for additional in-game items or play casino-style games to win extras. Setting up controls to limit any card payments is important and services such as YGAM provide advice, tips and resources on this topic [https://parents.ygam.org/].
Talking about online safety
It is important to have an honest and open space to discuss online use with children and young people. Research found a lack of parental involvement and understanding of children’s internet use was seen to be a risk factor.
- Explain, especially to younger children, what is meant by ‘inappropriate,’ by using language they will understand.
- Make sure they know that if something they see online upsets them or makes them worried, then they should always come to you.
Have discussions about the following:
- People may not be who they say they are online, and they should not be talking to, or accepting friend requests from, people they don’t know.
- There are serious risks about meeting people in person that a child only knows online
- Personal information such as passwords, phone numbers and addresses should not be shared.
- If accounts aren’t kept private, photos and things they write can be accessed by anyone, not just friends
Other things you can do
- Supervise your under 5 while they're online: Keep the devices your child uses in communal areas of the house such as in the living room or kitchen where an adult can supervise.
- Children under 5 should not access the internet unsupervised in private spaces, such as alone in their bedroom or bathroom.
- Check apps, websites and search results before using them with children.
- Children, especially those in the early years should always be supervised when accessing the internet.
- Ensure safety modes and filters are applied - default settings tend not to ensure a high level of privacy or security.
- Children don't need screen time until they're 3 years old. After which, they should have no more than 2 hours of screen time a day.
- Be with your child during screen time – it is not a substitute for childcare
- During screen time, make it interactive by talking to them about what they're watching, otherwise they'll learn to mimic it without understanding the content
- Be aware of the support available via e-safety campaigns
Reporting concerns
If something has happened to your child online you can make a report to the National Crime Agency for Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) [https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/Get-help/Reporting-an-incident/]. CEOP helps keep children and young people safe from sexual abuse and grooming online, as well as their parents and carers.
For information and guidance for parents of children and young people who have got in trouble online see the Parents Protect [https://www.parentsprotect.co.uk/if-your-child-get-into-trouble-online.htm] website.
Find out more (training and resources)
The Prevent team and West Midlands Police offer a free workshop for parents and carers to help keep their children safe online. The training looks at:
- Apps and appropriate ages
- Safety settings
- Grooming, sexting, bullying, radicalisation and extremism
- Gaming
- Introducing house rules
- How to approach conversations and what to do if your child is a victim
Book onto training [https://myaccount.coventry.gov.uk/service/Coventry_Safeguarding_Children_Board_training_booking]
SWGfL worked with TikTok to provide a free online event, exclusively for professionals working with children and young people, to explore what digital wellbeing looks like in 2022 and provide information and tips to stay safe online. Watch the video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb2hhcYJV5I].
Online safety resources
- The NSPCC has developed a suite of resources to support parents and carers in keeping children safe [https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/]. Their advice guides include online safety, including specific advice around video games, self harm, sexting, leaving children at home alone and talking PANTS.
- Get Safe Online is a website dedicated to help you know that your children are safe on the internet [https://www.getsafeonline.org/safeguarding-children/]. Their guidance is broken down into age ranges and has specific sections for gaming, social network, music and movies and parental control software so you can go straight to what you're looking for.
- Think U Know have produced Online Factsheets for children and young people at both primary age [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/file/32452/parent_online_safety_helpsheet_-_primary_age] and secondary age [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/file/32453/parents_online_safety_helpsheet_-_secondary_age].
- The Childline site [https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/bullying-abuse-safety/online-mobile-safety/] has tips and resources aimed at children and young people to help them stay safe online.
- Stop it Now! [http://www.stopitnow.org.uk/] work to prevent child sexual abuse, working with people who are worried about themselves and others and help to support parents and families.
- UK Safer Internet Centre [https://saferinternet.org.uk/] - A wealth of resources and guidance for supporting children and young people to stay safe online.
- Cyber Aware - National Cyber Security Centre [https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberaware/home] has a link to a wizard/tool to get a cyber action plan based on your current use and habits.
- Internet matters [https://www.internetmatters.org/] provide expert advice, information and more about using parental controls and keeping your children safe online. Their blogs include information about the latest apps, sites and internet trends. They also provide support for young people with learning difficulties and disability and their parents and carers
Parents Supporting Young People Online [http://www.childnet.com/resources/supporting-young-people-online] – Childnet provides advice for parents in twelve different languages including Bengali, Urdu, Polish and Arabic.