Supporting children to stay safe online

Last week, the Online Safety Bill passed its final Parliamentary debate in the House of Lords and is now on its way to becoming law. The bill will force firms to remove illegal content and protect children from unlawful material and any online content that can cause serious harm. 

Whilst the Online Safety Bill should help to create a safer online environment for children by cracking down on issues like cyber-bullying and underage usage of the platforms, there still remains an important role for parents to play in protecting and educating their children. 

With children spending more time online, the time they spend on in-person experiences reduces and their potential exposure to dangerous online content increases - it is therefore essential to support parents through this modern parenting challenge. Empowering parents to use some simple strategies to help their child navigate the online world could be as simple as helping them focus on things like:  

Awareness of Threats

Encourage parents to make their children aware of the threats online. For example, when their child sets up a social media account, parents may review the settings, make their profiles private, and block spam and offensive comments. Parents should also explain to their children the importance of not sharing personal details, which could identify them in the ‘real world’ and raise their awareness that the person they are interacting with may not be genuine or as they portray themselves. [NB: The NSPCC offers some helpful resources here.]

Reduce screen time before bed

Young people often see the most dangerous and inappropriate content in the evenings when they take their phones to bed and have free rein over what they are browsing. It is important to create boundaries around phone and social media usage so that children learn to regulate how long they spend on it each day. 

Reduce the time your child or young person spends looking at screens before bed by having a rule that devices are not taken into bedrooms in the evening and especially at bedtime. Try and encourage your child to come off their device by playing a board game or watching a film together.

Open Communication

Encourage parents to establish open dialogue with their children instead of laying down unrealistic limits on screen time. Many people, regardless of age, feel the need to turn to screens for socialising, so we should be wary of this when we’re asking children to put their devices away. Cutting out this form of communication without a constructive conversation as to ‘why’, can lead to conflict within families. Instead, explain to them that a healthy mix of ‘real life’ interaction and online is important - and that we can get something from both. 

By establishing open communication, children will be more likely to discuss their worries regarding what they have been viewing online. Parents can achieve this by checking in with their children to see how they are getting on - offering support and guidance along the way to help keep their children as safe as possible online. 

Encouraging parents to use these strategies will boost their confidence when tackling online safety with their children. If parents need further support, accessing evidence-based parenting programmes can provide parents with practical strategies and tools to help children develop safe online habits. For further tips see here.

Matt Buttery is chief executive of Triple P UK and Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Warwick