Online Safety

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. It is important to have regular conversation about staying safe online and to encourage children to speak to you if they come across something worrying online. Our advice and resources are here to support you as you support your child to use the internet safely, responsibility and positively.

My Children Know More About The Internet

Enabling parental controls on devices

What are parental controls?

Parental controls are the names for a group of settings that put you in control of what content your child can see. Combined with privacy settings these can help you protect your children from the things they shouldn’t see or experience online.

Find out how to set them on a wide range of devices, social media and entertainment providers here.

Age restrictions on social media and online gaming

It can be hard to work out what is appropriate for your child to access online and via apps, but here is a guide for age restrictions on social networking platforms. If you and your child would like to have a go at our age restrictions quiz, then click here.

For some specific information on how to stay safe and set parental controls on some of the more popular social networking platforms and online games, have a look at these checklists:

Advice by Age Group

0-5 years old

More and more pre-schoolers are getting their own tablets or borrowing their parents’ devices to play games, use apps, and watch their favourite TV shows. See advice on simple things you can do to make sure they’re using the internet safely.

Have a look at more information for this age group here.

6-10 Years Old

Early use of digital technology has been shown to improve language skills and promote children’s social development and creativity.

But it’s not without risks for young children, who may come across inappropriate content or begin to copy what older children do online. We’ll help you to understand what you can do to give young children the best experience of going online.

For more advice on how to support this age group in the online world, look here.

11-13 Years Old

As children between the ages of 11 and 13 make the transition to a more independent stage with the move to secondary school, they become more confident internet users with more varied habits. Internet use can be hugely positive for children, but it’s vital to continue discussing online safety with them.

For more advice on how to support this age group, look here.