Now more than ever before, young people are spending a large amount of their time online. From online lessons and homework to gaming and spending time with their friends, there are a range of ways that young people occupy their time whether on a phone, tablet, games console or computer.
Our Parent and Carers Toolkit is filled with quick, easy and practical things you can do to help protect your children on the internet. It includes help with how to talk to your child about how they spend their time online and how to communicate key online safety messages. The Toolkit is straightforward, easy to use and includes links to more detailed and specific information and support if you need it.
Three useful resources within the Toolkit:
- Let’s talk about life online.
Communication with your child about their online lives is key for keeping them safe. This resource supports parents and carers with starting, managing and maintaining these conversations. It’s useful to recognise and talk with young people about the positive aspects of the internet as well as what to do if they are feeling pressured or unhappy online. It’s also important to remind your child that they can always come to you about anything.
Let’s talk about life online gives you clear guidance and tips for building strong, open communication about life online. - Our Family Agreement.
A useful tool to help households come together and decide and agree upon some rules around internet use. The resource includes things to consider as part of that conversation such as screen time, sharing online and what to do if things go wrong. Many families find it useful to set some boundaries, for example around where devices are kept or limiting screen time in the hour before bedtime. There’s a space for regular review so the agreement can be easily adjusted to meet your family’s needs as they change and develop.
Being very clear about your expectations is important and our family agreement helps do exactly that. You could display it near devices or somewhere visible like the fridge to give useful reminders. - Parents’ and Carers’ Resource sheet.
A double page which provides links to further information, support and organisations that are most relevant for parents and carers. This includes our hot topics which provide information for parents and carers about key aspects of life online and how to manage them. We also link to useful sites and helplines for finding out about the age ratings on games and services, using parental controls, making reports and much more.
If you want to know where to get more information generally or have a specific concern about supporting your child online, our Parents’ and Carers’ Resource sheet it is a great place to start.
Online safety can feel like a difficult topic to manage with young people. These resources are designed to address these important issues in ways that are easy, manageable and supportive. Access the full Parent and Carers Toolkit on the Childnet website.
