Online safety

Talking to your child about online safety can help them feel safe and confident navigating the digital world. Short, weekly-check-ins make it easier to talk openly about what your child sees online and will help them build healthy online habits.

Why is talking about being online important?

Setting up parental controls is a useful step in preventing children from seeing harmful content online, but it cannot protect them completely. Talking to your child about online safety can help build trust and let them know that they can talk to you if they see something that worries them, or if something happens online that makes them feel unsafe.

Having conversations when your child is young is the best way to establish trust and open communication. Talking to teenagers and young adults about what they do online can feel impossible, but there are simple things you can do to normalise talking about their online activity.

Starting small

Starting with a quick check-in question every day can be a useful way to open the conversation.  Showing an interest is a good way to learn about their online life. Try questions like:

• Have you seen any good posts lately? Anything that made you laugh?
• Who’s your favourite YouTuber/Streamer? What sort of videos do they post?
• How did your game go? Who do you play with?

It may feel awkward or uncomfortable at first. If they don’t want to talk, don’t push them. You could try sharing some of your own experiences first and asking if they’ve ever come across something similar. If it doesn’t work the first time, try on another day.

Knowing what to trust online

Being online can be useful and entertaining, but it’s possible to come across false information, especially with the growing use of AI technologies.

Talk to your child about what they look at online and explain not everything is true. Try discussing and questioning content together using the following questions as a starting point:

• How does this post make you feel?
• Who shared this content? Why do you think they shared it?
• Are they being fair or could they be biased?
• Could this have been made by AI?

If your child feels comfortable, scroll through their social media together and talk about what comes up in their feed. Encourage them to follow accounts with different ideas from trusted sources. You could start by going through your own social media or have a family discussion too.

Spotting misleading or false content

Anyone can post online. Some posts may be misleading or made up to grab attention. Encourage your child to think for themselves and check where information comes from before believing or sharing it.

Key signs to look out for:

• Exaggerated or emotional language
• No sources or unverified claims
• Jumping to conclusions without proof

Talking about limits and negative experiences

Explaining to your child what parental controls you have in place and why can make them feel more included in the decision to use them. Discussing the possibility of changing them or lifting some restrictions as they get older gives them a sense of responsibility and a goal to work towards.

As your child gets older, it is normal for them to question restrictions and attempt to get around them to access content you don’t want them to see. Pushing boundaries is normal.

If your child tells you they have come across something inappropriate, harmful or upsetting online, let them know it’s okay to be open and honest with you and not to worry about getting into trouble.

If your child tells you about something they’ve seen, or something that has happened online that puts them in danger, act quickly to resolve or report it.

If your child is in immediate danger, call 999.