During remote learning young people will be spending more time at home than usual – with their families, and on devices. We have put together a list of resources that you can use with them, to explore online safety in a fun, engaging and educational way.
For you as a parent or carer
As your family may be spending more time at home and finding new ways to access education, stay in touch and have fun, here are some top tips to help you protect and support your child with their online lives.
1. Now is a great time to make a family agreement
A family agreement is a great way to start a conversation with your whole family about how you all use the internet, and how to behave positively online. Our family agreement provides a list of things to consider, and some examples to get you started. There’s also an agreement template to help families set clear expectations for positive and safe internet use, and we have written a blog about how to put your family agreement in practice.
2. Have a conversation
Young people may already be thinking about new ways they can use the internet to socialise, play together or get creative, participate in sport, or help each other out, and they might want to use different online tools for the first time. To support you, we have also produced a range of conversation starters and there’s advice in our pack for parents and carers.
3. Set up or review your parental controls and internet filters
Parental controls are designed to help protect children from inappropriate content online. These controls can be used in a number of ways, e.g. to help ensure that your children access only age-appropriate content; to set usage times; and to monitor activity. You can find out how to set these up or review current settings here.
4. Get creative
We would love to hear what families are doing right now to make the most of the online world! Have you found a great way to enable your children to socialise with their friends, or share home-learning activities, or have you used the family agreement to try something new as a family? Let us know by tweeting us @Childnet.
Resources for each age group
These resources are designed for you to use with your child, with some resources that young people can complete on their own.
Broken up into age-appropriate categories, we have put together a list of different resources you can use to delve into different online issues such as fake news, bullying, strangers online and more.
