PARENTING TIPS FOR A DIGITAL AGE

As well as making use of parental controls, further age-appropriate advice from Get Safe Online includes:

IF YOUR CHILD IS SIX TO NINE

Agree a list of websites your child is allowed to visit and explain the kind of personal information they shouldn’t reveal about themselves online, such as the name of their school or their home address.

Set online time limits.

Resist pressure to let them use technology or view certain online content that you don’t think they’re mature enough to use safely yet.

IF YOUR CHILD IS AGED 10 TO 12

Set clear boundaries before they get their first “connected device” – don’t wait until they’re already using it.

Start talking about “digital footprints” and how their online behaviour today can have future consequences.

Be open about the kind of content they might see. Make it clear you’re there to talk to them about it in a calm and non-judgmental way.

Services such as Facebook and YouTube have a minimum age limit of 13 for a reason.

IF YOUR CHILD IS 13 OR OVER

Talk frankly about how they explore issues related to the health, wellbeing, body image and sexuality of themselves and others online. They may be discovering inaccurate or dangerous information on the internet.

Review the settings on parental controls in line with your child’s age and maturity. They may ask you to trust them sufficiently to turn them off completely. Agree in advance what is acceptable online behaviour.

Routinely ask questions like: do you know everybody on your “friends” list; do you ever get messages from strangers; if so, how do you handle them; do you know anyone who has made plans to meet someone offline that they’ve only spoken to online; are people in your group of friends ever mean to each other online; has anyone ever been mean to you?