Explore and Search safely together
Talk to your child about what the internet is and explore it together so you can show them all the great fun and educational things they can do.
There are a lot of safe search engines such as Swiggle, Kiddle or Kids-search. You can save time by adding these to your ‘Favourites’.
Safe search settings can also be activated on Google and other search engines, as well as YouTube.
Encourage them to use devices in a communal area like the lounge or kitchen so you can keep an eye on how they’re using the internet and also share in their enjoyment.
Put yourself in control
Keep your devices out of reach and set passwords on all your internet-enabled devices and don’t share them. Then you’ll know when and where your child is accessing the internet. You can also make sure they’re not making additional purchases when they’re playing games or using apps.
Set your homepage to a child-friendly site like CBeebies and create a user account for your child on the family computer or device which only allows access to sites you’ve chosen.
Install parental controls on your home broadband. Most Internet-enabled devices also allow you to set parental controls so you can keep an eye on how they’re using the internet and also share in their enjoyment.
Help them learn through games
You can choose safe, fun and educational online games to play with your child and that you’ll be confident about them exploring. You can find good free of charge examples from Cbeebies and companies like Disney+, Nick Jr and Fisher Price.
Set Boundaries
It’s never too early to start setting boundaries. Set some rules about how long your child can spend online.
- Remember you are the parent/guardian and you can say no
- No screen time a couple of hours before bed
- No screen time at meal times
- Set times that work for you E.g an hour in the morning and hour in the evening
- Any screen time to be used in the same room as an adult
Source: Internet Matters
