How parents can help children stay safe online

Having discussed the effects and types of Cyberbullying last week, this week is on how you as a parent can help your child with the effects of online bullying, as well as what steps you can take to prevent it in the first place.

First and foremost, having continuous open and honest communication with your kids is the most important factor in helping them with the effects of online bullying. For children growing up with technology and the internet, there isn’t a difference – online life and offline life is just life! This means that anything they do online can affect them in person and vice-versa. It’s important to make chatting about online behaviour a regular part of the daily conversation, which will help them to feel relaxed and comfortable enough to open up if something goes wrong.

Secondly, all social media platforms in the UK are required by law to provide tools and services that protect children online (UK GOV 2024). This includes limiting age restricted content, taking down content that is directly harmful to children, and providing tools for parents that can help to oversee their child’s online behaviour. These parental controls range from screen time limits to granular controls over what content your children are allowed to see, or who they’re allowed to be contacted by. Make sure to use these tools so that you can set the appropriate boundaries for your kids. You can even work together to set those boundaries so that your children and you are on the same page! Most social media apps will also have built-in presets for certain age ranges, which can be helpful if you don’t know where to start. These tools are helpful in allowing parents to identify the signs of bullying earlier on and reach out before your children are harmed.

Finally, if you do suspect that bullying is occurring, whether your child has directly come to speak with you about it or not, there are reporting methods you can use to get in external help. Your child’s school will always have a designated safeguarding team trained to help with the effects of bullying, and potentially address the causes if the bullying originates in school. In addition to this, if you suspect your child is at risk of hurting themselves or others because of the bullying they have received, you can talk to trained NSPCC workers on 0808 800 5000, who will guide you in how to protect your child. If your child is not ready to talk with you, ask if they would like to get in touch with Childline on 0800 1111 – a service dedicated to children that has trained counsellors 24/7 to help with any concerns. Where you suspect sexual exploitation or coercive behaviour over the internet, you can make a report to CEOP at https://www.ceop.police.uk/Safety-Centre/ – a branch of the police that takes these matters extremely seriously, and will contact you as quickly as they can with the next steps.

Bibliography + useful links and services

CEOP (2024), https://www.ceop.police.uk/Safety-Centre/ [Accessed 19 November 2024]

Childline 0800 1111 (for under 18s) NSPCC 0808 800 5000 / help@nspcc.org.uk (for over 18s) UK GOV (2024), https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/online-safety-act-explainer/online-safety-act-explainer [Accessed 19 November 2024]