Talking about online content with children – It’s a good idea to explain to your child that the internet has all sorts of content and that some of it isn’t for children. You could explain that there are parental controls, safe browsing settings and internet filters set up on most devices to protect children from inappropriate content.

1. But these aren’t a guarantee, and your child could still come across inappropriate content.
2. So it’s also a good idea to encourage your child to talk to you or another trusted adult if they see something that worries them.
3. For example, ‘Sometimes people put horrible things on the internet.
4. Some of it’s made up and some of it’s real.

If you see anything that upsets you, let me know’. If you name things to look out for, it can help your child identify inappropriate material. For example, ‘If you see a site with upsetting, scary or rude pictures, swearing or angry words, let me know.

It’s not a good site for you to look at’. You could also explain that not all information on the internet is true or helpful. For example, some news is made up. If you encourage your child to think critically about internet content, this helps them learn to spot good-quality information online. Calm, open and regular conversations about internet use can help your child feel that you trust them to be responsible online.

And if your child feels trusted, they’re more likely to talk with you about what they do online and tell you about online experiences that worry them.

How do you explain online safety to children?

Talking to your child about online safety Talking regularly with your child is the greatest tool to help keep them safe online. Talking regularly and making it part of daily conversation, like you would about their day at school, will help your child feel relaxed. It also means when they do have any worries, they’re more likely to come and speak to you.

• But it can also be easy to become overwhelmed with the different technology, the language that children use, the huge number of games and apps which are available and the potential risks.
• A big factor to consider when we’re talking to children is age or cognitive ability, which also impacts on the language we use and what we can talk about.

As children get older, their needs and behaviour will change, particularly as children are moving through their teenage years and are more prone to risk-taking, mood swings or whether they will even talk to you about something that they may be embarrassed or ashamed about.

• For example if you suspect or, you may not wish to talk about this directly with a younger child, but instead report directly to,
• But you can also use resources such as to help with the conversation.
• With an older teenager you may be more comfortable talking about these issues.
• There are some tips in our and our page on which you may find useful.

A core part of the NSPCC’s 10-year strategy is to ensure children are safe online. To help achieve this we’ve teamed up with the LEGO Group to help promote their fun, free, The six ‘adventures’ help parents and caregivers talk with their children about key online safety topics through the joy of LEGO play.

If you’re stuck, not sure what to do, or if you’re worried about your child, you can also contact our trained on 0808 800 5000. Childline also has lots of information about that will help you and your child. There are potential risks for children online. Consider these things when you talk with your child about what they’re doing online: When they’re playing a game, using an app, watching YouTube channels, what sort of content is there? Have they seen any and if so, what did they do? How did it ? Most games and social media apps have various communications features, from text chat to voice chat, messaging and private messaging, video and image sharing, and more.

Ask about the friends they play with. What is the difference between online and offline friends? Do they talk to people they don’t know online? If so, why and what are they sharing? There can be lots of different reasons why children talk to people they don’t know online, such as same interests, talking gaming tactics and even for support and advice.

When they play those games or use those apps, what is their behaviour? Do they feel anxious? Do they sometimes get angry, e.g. playing fast-paced games and constantly losing? Some conversations are going to be more difficult than others, but it’s so important to have these open and honest conversations, so you can help your child with any worries or issues they might be facing online.

For example, if you’re worried they have been viewing, if they have been, if they have seen upsetting, inappropriate or, or perhaps, These more difficult conversations will heighten feelings of fear, anxiety, worry, shame and embarrassment.

As with any conversation, it is important that we try to stay calm, balanced and non-judgemental. If it’s something that has made you angry, fearful or concerned, don’t tackle it straight away if possible. Those feelings will affect the way we talk. Take a little time and, if possible, talk to someone else about it. Your child’s school can be a great source of information, particularly the class teacher and the Designated Safeguarding Lead and you can always contact us for advice. Don’t be too forceful otherwise there is the risk that they will close down. Consider a subtle approach instead of a head-on approach. For example, you could ask if the subject is discussed at school and what they learn about it, or it could be something that has been on the TV or you heard about it on the radio. Keep listening, try not to interrupt even if there is a period of silence. They may be thinking how they word something. Provide context. Allow them to understand why some things are wrong, age inappropriate or even illegal. In order to critically think and assess, they need information. Remind them of your family values; some parents may think that something is okay for their children, but explain why you don’t think it is appropriate for your children. Children often talk of being punished. For example, if they open up to you and say that they have seen explicit content by accident, they are fearful of their devices being removed from them. This is seen as a punishment and consequence for something that was out of their control. This is a judgement call that needs to be carefully handled.

For children, online life is life. It can help to think about how your child could feel sharing what they’re doing online before you talk to them. There could be a range of different emotions, such as:

Discomfort or embarrassment about something they have said online. Shame or fear if they’re worried about something they have seen or done. Annoyance or confusion if they don’t understand something. Happiness because they have received validation for what they’ve posted – such as likes or follows.

Try to remain calm and balanced. It can be very easy to show shock, even anger about something you may have heard. Be positive but also open about anything you’re worried about. You could say “I think this site’s really good,” or “I’m a little worried about things I’ve heard about this app.” Ask if they’re worried about anything and let them know they can come to you or another adult they trust. Listen for the reasons why your child wants to use apps or sites you don’t think are suitable, so you can talk about these together. Ask your child what they think’s okay for children of different ages, so they feel involved in the decision making.

Having a conversation with your child can give you a good insight into their online activities so that you can consider:

Are further options, such as, are required? Are the and apps they’re using appropriate to their age? Have a conversation and agree some rules with your child about what games and apps they’re allowed to use. While there are risks with most online platforms, we’d recommend only letting your child use apps that have privacy settings and a ‘report and block’ feature. Do they know about the safety and privacy features of the apps they’re using? Such as:

Privacy settings. Are their accounts public or private? Do they know how to block and report? Are those features available? Can you turn features off, such as chat and in-app purchases? Do they know what personal and private information is, and what is and is not appropriate to share online? What are their profiles on their games and apps? What does the profile say about them? What does the image or avatar say about them?

Children get lots of messages about online safety in school and at home, but this can be confusing for them if the adults around them appear to not be following the advice they’re giving. Your children look to you for guidance, so it’s not just about what advice you give to them, but also what you do yourself.

• Avoid the example, ‘do as I say, not as I do’.
• Make sure you aren’t sharing passwords or writing them down where others can find them.
• Talk with your child to remind them that passwords are private and shouldn’t be shared.
• It can be good for all of us to have a break, so set an example and use device settings to turn off notifications sometimes.

There has been a huge rise in fake and false information shared online, talk to them about what you have seen (if it’s appropriate to do so) and why you have questioned it. This helps them to develop critical thinking skills. We tell children to be careful about the pictures they share online, such as in their school uniforms, but at the start of every school year, many parents do this.

It can be confusing for your child, but also an opportunity to discuss how you are doing this safely, e.g. privacy settings. Modelling good behaviour includes asking their permission first and not over-sharing. You could show them the image you want to share, assure them you are only sharing with family and that you have privacy settings in place.

If they say they don’t want that image shared we should respect their feelings on the matter. But no matter how hard we try, there may be things that children won’t open up to, so it’s important that we give them other options. That could be:

another adult family member, e.g. aunt, older cousin etc. a teacher or member of the pastoral team in school Childline on 0800 1111 or visiting the,

: Talking to your child about online safety

What is Internet safety in simple words?

Online Safety? – While cybersecurity protects devices and networks from harm by third parties, Online Safety protects the people using them from harm by the devices and networks (and therefore third parties) through awareness, education, information and technology.

1. It is what we call the appropriate approach to personal safety when using digital technologies.
2. Online Safety is being aware of the nature of the possible threats that you could encounter whilst engaging in activity through the Internet, these could be security threats, protecting and managing your personal data, onliine reputation management, and avoiding harmful or illegal content.

It isn’t about scaremongering, it isn’t about criticism and chaos, it’s about focusing on the positive and enriching side of digital life whilst recognising its challenges and how to best approach them.

Why is it important for children to stay safe online?

Places where dangers can occur – It’s important for kids to be careful whenever they’re connected to the Internet because online dangers are not just limited to bad websites, Chat rooms, computer games, and even social networking sites can be risky. If your kids have mobile phones, they’ll also need to be careful when texting or when accessing the Internet on their phones.

What is another word for Internet safety?

C – CDA: The Communications Decency Act of 1996, a part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, was the first attempt by the U.S. Congress to protect children on the Internet from pornography. CDA prohibited knowingly sending or displaying “indecent” material to minors through the computer, defined as: “any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other communication that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms of patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory activities or organs.” The Act was immediately challenged by a law suit by the ACLU and blocked by a lower court.

A year later the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the indecency provisions of the CDA in the historical cyberlaw case of Reno v. ACLU (1997). The Supreme Court held that a law that places a “burden on adult speech is unacceptable if less restrictive alternatives would be at least as effective in achieving” the same goal.

However, the court reaffirmed the application of obscenity and child pornography laws in cyberspace—an important victory for the protection of children online. Chatroom: A location online that allows multiple users to communicate electronically with each other in real time, as opposed to delayed time as with e-mail.

1. Circumventor Sites: Parallel websites that allow children to get around filtering software and access sites that have been blocked.
2. Closed Systems: A limited network of sites that are rated and categorized by maturity level and quality.
3. Within a closed system, children cannot go beyond the network whitelist of approved websites, also referred to as a “walled garden.” Cookie: A piece of information about your visit to a website that some websites record automatically on your computer.

By using a cookie, a website operator can determine a lot of information about you and your computer. cookies are not always bad. For example, a cookie remembers that you prefer aisle seats in the front of the plane. COPA: The Child Online Protection Act (COPA) of 1998 was an effort by the U.S.

Congress to modify the CDA in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Reno v. ACLU. The law sought to make it a crime for commercial websites to make pornographic material that is “harmful to minors” available to juveniles. The purpose of COPA was to protect children from instant access to pornographic “teaser images” on porn syndicate web pages, by requiring pornographers to take credit card numbers, adult verification numbers, or access codes to restrict children’s access to pornographic material and to allow access to this material for consenting adults only.

Despite the critical need for measures to protect children from accessing harmful materials, the law was immediately challenged and blocked by lower courts, and has become the subject of an epic legal battle, still raging today. The permanent injunction against the enforcement of COPA remains in effect today.

The government has not announced whether it will appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court for a third time. COPPA: The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, which went into effect in April 2000, requires websites that market to children under the age of 13 to get “verifiable parental consent” before allowing children access to their sites.

The Federal Trade commission (FTC), which is responsible for enforcing COPPA, adopted a sliding scale approach to obtaining parental consent. The sliding scale approach allows website operators to use a mix of methods to comply with the law, including print-and-fax forms, follow-up phone calls and e-mails, and credit card authorizations.

CIPA: The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) of 2000 requires public schools and libraries receiving federal e-rate funds to use a portion of those funds to filter their internet access. They must filter out obscenity on library computer terminals used by adults and both obscenity and harmful-to-minors materials on terminals used by minor children.

CIPA was upheld by the u.s. supreme court as constitutional in June 2003. Cyberbullies/cyberbullying: Willful and repeated harm inflicted through the medium of electronic text, typically through e-mails or on websites (e.g., blogs, social networking sites).

Why is Internet safety so important?

How your computer could be at risk – Most people store a lot of personal information on their computers. If you don’t protect your computer properly when you’re online, it’s possible that personal details could be stolen or deleted without your knowledge.

What is good Internet safety?

Never give out identifying information such as your name, home address, school name, or telephone number. Understand that whatever you are told on-line may or may not be true. In addition to the list above, children should: Never buy anything online without parental permission.

How do I talk to my child about safety?

Reassure your children that their safety is your #1 concern. TEACH your children. Set boundaries about places they may go, people they may see, and things they may do. Reinforce the importance of the ‘buddy system.’ It’s OK to say NO – tell your children to trust their instincts.

How do I talk to tweens about internet safety?

Reinforce the importance of keeping private info private. Show them how to update their devices and how it protects them. Talk to them about why you set parental controls and how those keep them safe. Find more tips in our internet safety for kids guide.

What are the 3 C’s of Internet safety?

– Areas for online risks can be categorised into the 3 C’s – Content, Contact and Conduct, and can be commercial, aggressive or sexual in nature as shown in the table below. Children are keen to explore the online world but are often not mature enough to manage or understand the risks they come across. Helping your child to manage these risks at home can be achieved by asking your child

Where they are going and what they see ? – this will help you talk about content risk. What they do online? – this will help you understand any conduct risks and see whether they are chatting on anonymous sites or posting comments about themselves. Who they are talking to? – this will help cover the contact risks, particularly if their online friends are people they do not know offline.

It is essential to be realistic – banning the internet or technology will not work and it often makes a child less likely to report a problem. Education around the safe use is essential.

What are the 4 R’s of Internet safety?

The 4Rs: respect, resilience, responsibility and reasoning Respect, resilience, responsibility and reasoning are the four critical skills required to create a safer and more positive online environment for everyone. As stated on the Office of the eSafety Commissioner website, the 4Rs of online safety are:

Respect – I treat myself and others the way I like to be treated.Responsibility – I am accountable for my actions and I take a stand when I feel something is wrong.Reasoning – I question information I am told and find evidence before believing what I read. Resilience – I get back up from tough situations and help others get back up too.

These core principles support young people to develop empathy and make ‘smart’ decisions in the online world. Watch Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant present on the 4Rs of the digital age at the, These critical skills are supported at Safer Internet Day 2020 (SID) addressing the concept of ‘Together for a better internet’.

How do you teach a child safety?

Reassure your children that their safety is your #1 concern. TEACH your children. Set boundaries about places they may go, people they may see, and things they may do. Reinforce the importance of the ‘buddy system.’ It’s OK to say NO – tell your children to trust their instincts.

How do I teach my child about online predators?

1. Talk to your child about online predators. – Online predators often target children who are lonely or who have low self-esteem, Many kids with learning and thinking differences struggle with social as well as academic skills. That’s why it’s important to help your child be wary of strangers your child meets online.

Why is it important to talk about online safety?

Talking to your child about online safety For kids today, there’s no real difference between online life and offline life. It all flows into one. That’s why it’s so important to teach them how to stay safe online. And just like any other part of your child’s development, talking to them is your greatest tool.

Talking openly and regularly will not only help your child understand the risks of the internet, it will also make them feel more comfortable coming to you if they’re worried about something. Try to make chatting about what they’re doing online a part of daily conversation. Just like you would ask your child about their day in school, you can ask them what they’re up to online, and take it from there.

In this video, Bethan Kelly from discusses how you can help keep your child safe online. Our kids often jump at the chance to talk about something they like. You can use this as a starting point for your conversations around online safety. Try asking questions about their favourite sites and games, and showing enthusiasm for the things they enjoy online. father-son-talking-with-tablet-banner There are so many exciting things to see and do on the internet and it can be a great place to have some fun with your child. Maybe you could ask them to teach you how to play their favourite game. Or maybe you simply cheer them on while they’re playing.

Getting involved with your child’s online activity is a really nice way to keep up to date with their online experience. If you’re not sure how to get a conversation about online safety going, why not start by watching a short video together and then discussing what you’ve watched? ThinkUKnow from CEOP has some really helpful resources: It’s so important to make your child aware of the dangers online.

Topics to talk about include:

online bullying seeing things that may upset them potential scams they could fall for messaging strangers or people they only know online grooming spending money online without permission.

That way, if they do come across these things, they’re prepared and know how to react. There are tips and advice on what to look out for on our, Let’s say the issue of online safety comes up in a TV programme or an online show they watch. It might be that a character in the show or a celebrity has had a naked photo of them shared online against their wishes, or that someone in their online community isn’t who they say they are.

Try and find opportunities to talk to them about these issues and be part of their online world. When it comes to setting rules, every parent is different. Think about how much time you’d like your child to spend online, and the kind of sites they can use. You can then talk this over with them so you have a that both you and your child are comfortable with.

It’s a good idea to talk to your kids about sharing photos and information online, and how they can be changed or misused by other people. One way to show them the importance of thinking before sharing is to ask their permission before you share a photo of them on your social media.

There’s some that you could look at together. Because we feel more anonymous when we’re online, we don’t always behave in the same way that we would in the real world. Talk to your child about this – how do they like to be treated in the real world, and how do they treat other people? We all want people to be kind and respectful to us, and those same rules apply to the online world.

Just because someone’s rude to you, doesn’t mean you have to be rude back. Leaving someone out of a game in the playground is mean – and so is leaving a friend out of a game online. Explain that when someone’s being rude online it’s best just to ignore it, send a polite reply or stop playing – don’t let it escalate. mother-daughter-laughing-together-with-tablet-banner Of course, we all want our child to come to us if they’re in trouble. So, let them know that they can always speak to you or another trusted family member or adult if they feel uncomfortable or worried about something they’ve seen online.

Do your best to make sure they know that you would never blame them for anything that might happen online. You can also let them know that if they would prefer to speak to someone anonymously, they can call on, Lots of us think about taking away tablets or phones as punishment when a child misbehaves.

But this can make them feel anxious and cut off from their friends. Instead, try to talk to them about their behaviour. There are lots of tips on our pages on and to help with this. Children are accessing technology and the internet at a younger age than ever before.

It’s never too early to talk to your child about what they do online and who to tell if they come across anything online that makes them feel worried, scared or sad. But where do you start? Jessie & Friends is a series of three animations that follow the adventures of Jessie, Tia and Mo as they begin to navigate the online world, watching videos, sharing pictures and playing games.

Watching the films together is a great way to start talking to your child about online safety. There’s also a storybook for each episode, to help you and your child keep the conversation going. You can find out more and see the videos on the, CEOP Education also have a featuring the Jessie & Friends characters in interactive badge games designed to help you and your child learn and explore online safety topics together.

You can find more on the CEOP website. Discussing online safety and all the issues that come along with it may seem even more daunting if your child has additional support needs. But it’s still very important to do so, and there are lots of resources out there to help. have created a great resource to help parents of children with additional support needs talk to them about online safety, set boundaries and deal with any problems that may arise.

The resource covers healthy relationships, digital wellbeing, online pornography and nudes.

For more tips about starting a conversation, the has great advice.You could also look at advice with your child to help start the conversation.The resource from CEOP Education helps you to prepare for regular conversations with your child or teen about online relationships and related topics.If you’d like more support setting up parental controls, the will take you step by step through the process of setting up parental controls and privacy settings across all of the networks, gadgets, apps, and sites that your child uses, to help keep them safer online.also has lots of helpful information, including tips from young people on what they think parents should know about online safety.The website has information on how children learn about and use digital resources and how you can help protect your child when they’re online.

: Talking to your child about online safety

Jack Gloop