Internet Safety
Tips, advice, guides and resources to help keep your child safe online
As a parent or carer you play a key role in helping your child to stay safe online.
You don’t need to be an expert on the internet to help keep your child stay safe online. Our advice and resources are here to support you as you support your child to use the internet safely, responsibility and positively.
It is really important to chat with your children on an ongoing basis about staying safe online. Not sure where to begin? These conversation starter suggestions can help.
- Ask your children to tell you about the sites they like to visit and what they enjoy doing online.
- Ask them how they stay safe online
- Ask them if they know where to go for help
Top Tips for use with 3-7s
Let’s create an internet where we are….
Free to be ourselves
Be proud of all the things that you enjoy, and keep on trying different things too. If there are new activities that you want to do online, ask an adult first to help you find them – to check they’re ok for you.
Free to be kind
Remember, the rules that you follow every day in real life also apply when you’re on the internet. It’s important to treat other people the way that you would like to be treated and always think about their feelings.
Free to play
It’s really important that your parents and carers know what you enjoy doing online, so that they can help you when you need it. Using the internet together as a family is really fun, and you’ll be the best teacher when it comes to showing everyone your favourite games!
Free to be safe
Some parts of your identity must stay private. This is your ‘personal information’ – which includes your name, date of birth, home address, school address, email address and passwords.
Free to talk
If anyone, or anything, online makes you feel worried, upset or uncomfortable, tell a trusted adult straight away. The sooner someone knows how you feel, the sooner you can be helped.
Top Tips 7-11s
These top tips have been written to help you to have a great time online, by always remembering to talk about…
Talk about your life online
Even if you enjoy using technology on your own, it is important to talk about your online experiences. You can talk to parents and carers, teachers, friends, and family members. You can share experiences, share ideas, and even share your own top tips to help make your time online as great as it can be.
Talk about how being online makes you feel
Whether you’re having a great time or a tough time, you’re not on your own. Discuss the way you’re feeling with friends, family and trusted adults. Recognise and celebrate the positive experiences you have, and work together to deal with the negatives.
Talk about the importance of kindness and respect online
We all know we should treat people online with respect, so talk about how to show kindness with your friends. Do they like seeing funny videos? What support can you give when they’ve had a bad time online? Remember you should also talk to an adult if someone has been unkind or disrespectful to you or a friend.
Talk about what you learn online
The internet is a great place to learn and explore and it can be really interesting to talk to your friends about the things you find out. However, remember that not everything we see online is trustworthy and if something seems too good to be true, it probably isn’t true! Make sure to ask adults for help to check information, and to work out if it is from a reliable source.
Talk about your online friendships
The internet is a great tool for staying in touch with friends, but sometimes chatting online can be tricky. If you’ve fallen out or had a disagreement, remember that a face to face conversation might help. The adults in your life can also support you with this by making sure that your online friendships are positive and safe, so talk to them about who you’re talking to!
Talk about how and where to get help
The internet is amazing, but sometimes things can go wrong. There are so many ways to get help and talking is the first step. Talk to a parent or carer, a teacher, or another trusted adult who can help. You could even talk to a friend first, and then talk to an adult together.