Talking to your kids about online safety can be an incredibly daunting task. If you feel like you’re constantly striving to play catch up with the ever-changing state of the online worlds — fret not, you’re not alone! In fact, some kids today seem to understand technology even better than adults do. Yet, kids undoubtedly still need their parents’ guidance on how to navigate the risks of the online world.

Here are our top tips on how to approach the topic of online safety with your children.

It is common for kids these days to start owning smartphones at an increasingly younger age. [Fun Fact: A recent study conducted by Stanford Medicine showed that the age that children acquire mobile phones is not meaningfully linked to their well-being!] Starting conversations about online safety early with your child allows you to set a strong foundation for their online activities, which means they are more likely to avoid pitfalls from day one.

It’s not about telling kids what they cannot do; it’s about giving them the right tools to discover what they can. Let’s debunk the common assumption that kids simply do not care about online safety — most actually do! The key is to educate your child using age-appropriate language so that complicated ideas like privacy and online safety can be explained in a comprehensible, easy-to-digest manner.

Imagine you accidentally caught your 10-year-old watching exceptionally violent or explicit content online — it would not be unusual that your instinct is to react in shock and anger. However, such a negative reaction can cause feelings of fear, anxiety and shame in your child, causing them to resent authority and shut down. Instead, it is important that you try to stay calm and non-judgmental — this sends the signal to your child that there is a safe space in which they can confide to you about troubles they face online.

Monkey see, monkey do — it is no secret that children learn by imitating their parents. As such, you should be mindful of their your own online behaviour, in order to model safe and responsible online use for your children. This does not mean you have to be perfect or know it all! There are a ton of terrific resources online for parents to equip themselves with relevant knowledge and the latest thinking around online safety issues.

Kids are likely to be glued to their smart phones most of the time, so it is almost impossible to have physical access to their smart phones. Instead, many parents rely on a variety of parental control software available to help them remotely manage children’s access to certain apps and features. Admittedly, this may not be a failsafe solution (some parents feel that this could break the trust and relationship they have with their child, or that their technologically-savvy child can bypass the restrictions anyway).
      
Let’s put it this way — there’s no shortcut to protecting your kids online. If you choose to use a parental control software, this should always be done hand-in-hand with other measures such as educating your kids through open and honest conversations.

We recognise that every child and every family is unique. As such, there is no one right way to enforce online safety in children. Different children have different psychological makeups (some are more prone to risk-taking, some are more risk averse; some are more likely to be influenced by peer pressure; some are more self-confident — you get where we’re going with this). You know your child best; you are in the best position to tailor the most appropriate solutions that work in the best interests of your child.