It’s summer holiday time (not that you’d know looking out of the window) and with cost of living on everyone’s radar, chances are that children will be spending even more time on screens. So, there’s no better time than now for us to send out a few helpful links to you to forward to your family and friends, nephews and nieces, colleagues and co-workers.

Here are some helpful resources to share with your tribe.

Start the right conversations

Having the right conversations makes a massive impact on keeping children safe online. We know from our research that having regular, relevant online safety chitchats enables children to reflect on their online experiences and gives them a chance to report or discuss things of interest/concern. 

Finding the right time can happen pretty much anywhere…around the table, just before bed, on the way to school, walking the dog, it doesn't matter where or for how long but showing an interest in what your child enjoys doing online will offer important insight into their digital world. 

We know it’s not always easy to go straight to the gritty stuff so click here for a link to a handy resource for getting those chats flowing. 

Conversation starters for 4-7 year olds

Conversation starters for 7-9 year olds

Conversation starters for 9-11 year olds

Create a family agreement

It might sound cheesy but having a visual cue for your family to follow in the home can make a huge difference. Agree a set of rules around internet use,  and including things like where tablets and mobile phones live, keeping them out of bedrooms, time restrictions and requests for downloads etc gets everyone on the same page. 

Once the agreement is in place, as parents and carers, you are less likely to be vilified when reminding everyone of the rules if you can say, look, this is what we agreed. If you need something to get your started, please click here.

Online Family Agreement

Online Safety Checklist at Home

Check out some YouTubers

School is out and the kids are free to roam around YouTube with abandon! If you know children with favourite YouTubers (that’s all of them) then why not check them out on our handy Rate My YouTuber page before agreeing to viewing..

Natterhub Home is here to support your child

Why not have your child earn some screen time? Once you have removed automatic access to the internet, the idea of actually having your child earn screen time is something lots of our parents are opting for. Natterhub Home is a series of interactive animated sessions that your child works through that teaches them everything they need to know about online safety and their relationship with technology. Free trials available.

Additional helpful links

Preparing your child for Group Chats

Preparing your child for Social Media

Talking about Gaming

Interactive Lessons from Natterhub Home