What Parents need to know

Lets Start 

Firstly Most studies show, it does not matter how early they start on devices, online. What really matters is the way you set and enforce the rules. What you need is a discipline built on good habits.

Agree on boundaries Set limits now for what your child can and can’t do online – where, when and how they can use the internet. 

• Agree on a time limit per day and stick to it
• Sites they can visit 
• Type of information they can share.
• Agree with your child when they can have a mobile phone or tablet.

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Set their first device up age-appropriate for them with the proper parental controls in place. 
Tech-free meal times are a must. 
Keep phones out of the bedroom for sleep and screen-free zone.

Put yourself in control

Use parental controls on your home broadband internet-enabled devices. Set up a user account for your child on the main device, they use and make sure other accounts in the household are password-protected so that younger children can’t access them by accident

No.1 Rule | Buy & Install Parental Control

Explore together

Talk to them about what they do online and what sites and apps they like to use. Take an interest in them and encourage them to show you their favourites to check they’re suitable. For obvious reasons, children can be quite coy about this. Warning - Other kids may have shown them what to show you.

Survey results from our parental talks

YouTube

What about YouTube every parent asks. Is it safe? Can I trust YouTube to look after my kid? The short answer is No. Google and YouTube uses hand curation and machine curation of videos mounted on YouTube. Still, bad videos get uploaded onto the platform every second. There are people who intentionally label their video 'Peppa pig' and kid-friendly but upload vicious porn. YouTube for Kids, Restricted mode is a good idea but not enough.

YouTube might be the first time a kid makes a first real choice, so psychiatrists say YouTube makes a strong bond with kids

Quick Tips for YouTube.

• Watch with them
• Make them watch near you with the volume up enough to hear what's going on
• Put down every 20 minutes, use an oven timer or phone alarm
• No watching alone in another room or bedroom

YouTube is not as safe as it used to be. Fact.

• Google are spooked by TikTok. 
• Too much advertising on YouTube
• Influencers - Who are they, Are they reliable? Are they motivated primarily by reward?
• Perverts misdescribe videos to beat content moderators (Bots & People) using 'Peppa pig' to beat moderation
•  

Is YouTube for Kids free?

Yes, YouTube Kids is free. You can access it online even if you don’t have a YouTube account. But if you do make an account, you’ll be able to customize YouTube Kids and allow your kids to use the Watch It Again features (which is also helpful for parents that want to track their children’s YouTube history) and also gets content suggestions based on their previously watched videos.

YouTube Premium subscribers that sign into YouTube Kids can pass on their premium benefits to their kids, including ad-free viewing, free video downloads, and the ability for YouTube to play in the background even when you leave the app (which is great for kids that use YouTube as a music player)
 

1. 5 things a child mustn't share
2. What is Sexting
3. Help, I just saw a naked picture of my teen on her phone
4. Do what Google doesn't, make YouTube safe again for Kids YouTube

Handy Connections.

Setting up the right Social Media Profile for Kids

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Gamers - You need Nord VPN