Stop Scrolling, Start Talking: A Parent's Guide to Online Safety
How often have you gone through your child's phone? Once? Twice? Every night? This is an unfortunate reality for many parents who want to protect their children online but have resorted to manually going through content and messages, breaking down important trust and privacy barriers between parents and children.
In our current social media-focused world, parents are facing new obstacles that no other generation has faced before. As trends move faster than ever and digital slang allows harmful creators to slip through algorithmic cracks and safeguards, looking through your child's phone has become a necessary evil.
So how can we protect our children online without creating an atmosphere of mistrust?
Here are our 5 top tips:
1) Recognising Digital Responsibility:
Excessive monitoring can lead a child to find other, less safe ways of accessing certain types of content or/and result in a child having little sense of digital responsibility.
In both instances, children are put at an increased level of risk as they explore the digital world. Children need to develop a sense of control and responsibility online, knowing what content is good and bad, and having the ability to report or tell a responsible adult about content/behaviours.
2) Establishing Healthy Habits:
We all know that children often mimic their parents, so a healthy level of digital usage should be used throughout the home, for both parents and children.
You can do this by:
Setting up technology-free times (before bed is a good place to start)
Set daily screen times for the whole family (excluding work hours)
Prioritising family time over screen time (no phones at the table)
3) Clear Communication:
One of the hardest things for a child to do is let you know they are struggling. Even as adults we can often find it difficult to tell others that we need help. Having open conversations about difficult situations and creating safe spaces for children to voice their worries is an incredibly powerful tool when dealing with difficult problems. Establishing this level of open communication can be difficult but here are a few ways you can do this:
Hold Open Discussions: Talk about issues such as cyberbullying in front of your child, and remember a problem that isn't spoken about becomes taboo
Use Resources: There are hundreds of TV shows and documentaries that discuss online safety. Watch these as a family to start laying the groundwork for open communication
Don't Rely on Words: Not every child is comfortable voicing their worries. Instead, look into using a notebook or the notes app as a way for your child to communicate with you in a non-verbal format
4) Phones are just an Addition to Life:
We can all fall into the obsession with our digital selves sometimes. Perhaps you want to take pictures of your family having fun for Instagram or openly discuss what others are doing online (digital gossiping), this level of enthralled online activity can negatively impact children when phones/our digital selves are presented as highly important.
Remember phones are an addition to life, not the center of it. Enjoy taking photos of your family having fun but understand that not everything needs to be uploaded instantly.
If you’re struggling to manage your own digital time, apps like Minimalist Phone, One Sec and Forest are great apps to help.
5) Digital Safety Apps:
Explore which digital safety apps are best for you and your family. Remember, excessive monitoring can lead to the destruction of trust within families, so finding an app which balances child privacy with safety is important.
See how Big Sister perfectly balances privacy and safety using expert advice from the NSPCC, CEOP, and our Expert Panel by exploring our How It Works, or sign up early and get an exclusive 80% discount just by joining our waitlist.
Ultimately, the goal is to raise digitally responsible children who can navigate the online world safely and independently. Constant monitoring undermines this objective, while guided learning and open communication empowers children to make smart choices.
Remember, every family is different. What works for one might not work for another. The key is finding a balanced approach that respects your child's growing independence while providing necessary guidance.