Tuesday the 11th of February is Safer Internet Day. With children spending more time online, ensuring their safety in the digital environment is crucial. Safer Internet Day serves as a great reminder to check in with our children and one another about internet use and healthy online habits.
In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, it’s essential for parents, carers, and the community to stay informed and proactive in fostering a safer online experience for everyone. Here are four important tips to consider and some online resources to help you navigate this journey:
- Stay informed
Understand the platforms, games and apps your child is using. The internet is an ever evolving place with many new websites and apps being launched consistently. By being proactive in seeking and receiving online safety information, you can determine the appropriateness and suitability of the different apps and websites your child interacts with. Some ways you may wish to stay informed include:
- Research and review new popular and emerging apps, websites and platforms
- Subscribe to online safety newsletters and follow trusted online safety organisations, such as the eSafety Commissioner
- Attend workshops or webinars on internet safety
- Encourage open conversations
Did you know just over half of Australian parents talk to their children about online safety? (Source: Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation). Open and honest conversations with your child about online safety, privacy, and appropriate digital boundaries are crucial to help be proactive and responsive to issues which may arise. Encourage your children to ask before installing, downloading and buying anything online. It is important to gain an understanding of the negative experience’s children are experiencing online. You may wish to use real-life examples and scenarios to illustrate the importance of online safety, or start whole family discussions about online activities and experiences.
- Set clear boundaries
Establish with your child and communicate clear rules for internet use. Regularly review and adjust boundaries as your child grows and as their online activities change. Use parental controls and set screentime limits to create a balanced digital environment. Remind children to keep their personal information private. Suggested boundaries to consider is only adding and following people you know in real life; tell a responsible adult if someone sends an unwanted message; do not meet up with online friends.
- Monitor and guide online activity
Be aware of who your child interacts with online and ensure their profiles are set to private. Discuss with your children’s healthy online habits and encourage them to practice such habits to guide their online activities.
Consider the use of parental controls to monitor and limit what you child sees and interacts with. You are able to change such settings to reflect your children’s age and skills. Some settings parental controls allow use of is blocking websites, apps and functions; filtering specific types of content; limit who your child can communicate with; setting time limits. You can adjust the settings to reflect your wishes and boundaries set.
As we celebrate Safer Internet Day, let’s take the opportunity to reinforce the importance of online safety within our families and communities. By staying informed, encouraging open conversations, setting clear boundaries, and monitoring online activities, we can create a safer and more positive online environment for our children.
For expert guidance and practical tools, visit the eSafety Commissioners website for resources and safety guides: https://www.esafety.gov.au/
Some more, in-depth tips, provided by Telethon Kids Institute can be found here: https://embrace.thekids.org.au/siteassets/documents/top-tips-for-cyber-safety.pdf
Share this website with your children to encourage thoughtful conversations surrounding eSafety: https://www.esafety.gov.au/kids