Children’s Commissioner publishes guide for parents to support online safety
What I wish my parents or carers knew…’: A guide for parents and carers on managing children’s digital lives has been designed to help parents talk to their child about the internet and the digital world more easily. It offers advice on setting boundaries and bringing up difficult topics that cannot be ignored – not just once, in a cursory way, but regularly. The hope is that it will help parents navigate the online world that was not built for children, nor designed with their safety at heart.
Recently the Online Safety Act has come into force across the UK, which means that the content children see should now be regulated. It is a landmark piece of legislation, though it is far from perfect and there is still so much further to go to make its ambitions of making the UK the safest place for a child to be online a reality.
Beyond the safety aspects of the guide there is more support for parents around questions such as:
- How much scrolling is too much scrolling?
- How can I set a rule around phone use?
- Does my child know they can talk to me if something bad happens to them online?
The guide has been co-produced with the direct involvement of children in England and is a reflection of their views. The Commissioners staff visited schools to speak to teenagers, and spoke to the Commissioner’s Youth Ambassadors and Youth Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Panel to get their expertise on what works and what doesn’t work between parents or carers and children in the 21st Century.
The Commissioner said:
“The message I want you to walk away with is to talk early and to talk often. Meet your child with patience, compassion for them navigating this new and rapidly developing world – the same compassion we deserve for ourselves – and with kindness. Trust your instincts – and take the steps to educate yourself.
