NSPCC want to know about the apps your kids use - share to win a £300 voucher.NOW CLOSED

[AmeliaMumsnet]

NSPCC says: “Most parents are brilliant at keeping their child safe in the physical world, through daily chats and reminders. It should be exactly the same in the online world too, so our #ShareAware campaign aims to get parents chatting to kids about their online lives, just like they would their day at school.These chats are made much easier if Mums and Dads understand their child’s online world – what games they like and the apps they use - and we’d recommend that parents explore the games and sites their child likes, alongside them.

“So to help you, NSPCC and O2 have created Net Aware. This site (and app) provides an overview of nearly 40 of the most popular apps and games used by young people. Our site and app will give the official age and the age which parents and young people think it’s appropriate for. It also provides tips from O2 Gurus on a range of topics, including privacy settings to adjust and the chance of risky content. For more information, you can visit Net Aware or download the Net Aware app on iOS or Android.”

Did you know that 1 in 4 8-11 year olds have a social networking account, despite the minimum age for most being 13? It can be difficult to understand your DC’s activity on games and apps, especially if you don’t know how to use them yourself. That’s why NSPCC want to know about the apps and games your DC use, and how you make sure they’re staying safe. Post on this thread with your hints and tips for talking about DC’s use of apps and you’ll be entered into a prize draw to win a £300 voucher of your choice (from a list).
Whether you think Minecraft is a minefield, or you’re a pro Snapchatter, NSPCC want to know how involved you are with your DC’s apps and games. Post on the thread with your views about apps, whether or not you use them yourself, and share your tips for making sure your DC is using them safely.

One lucky MNer who posts on this thread will be randomly selected to win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks so much for taking part, and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

[WhattheChuff]

My two, 4 & 8 have limited screen time and a kindle fire with parental controls on. New downloads are only age appropriate and we check what they've got regularly. They are aware of YouTube and we do watch it sometimes but only on my device which is password protected.
They're mostly very good at accepting their limits and they don't seem to have reached a stage where peer pressure is including social media yet.
We've talked about the dangers and how to keep safe and we'll continue to do so.
I like the sound of the app and will definitely check it out.

I'm not sure if it will be the equivalent of common sense media.com but that is so useful as a guide for TVs and film so hoping it will be.

[sharond101]

My 4 year old loves the Skyscanner app. Whenever an aeroplane is overhead he can say what type of aeroplane it is, where it's come from and where it's going.

[HerRoyalFattyness]

This only applies to my oldest as my 3 year old and (nearly) 2 year old don't access technology themselves.

My oldest is 8.
He has a 2DS, a Samsung tablet, an Xbox 360 (upstairs) and an Xbox one (downstairs)
The 2DS he only really plays with my supervision. Same with his tablet. We play on those together and if he does play a game (pokemon etc) on his own for a while, and he comes across something he isnt sure of he speaks to me. (There are things in pokemon to connect with other players to transfer pokemon)
He has no personal accounts and shares mine.
He cannot buy anything and parental controls limit what content he can view.
The Xbox 360 is not connected to the internet and is used only for the games that we have.
The Xbox one is used for YouTube, games, netflix and talking to his dad and uncle. (The only 2 "friends" on my account)
I have my Microsoft account set so that nothing can be downloaded, not even free stuff and as it is downstairs in the living room I am able to see at all times.

Social media isn't a problem. We have spoken about the dangers of the internet and he understands that there are age limits for a reason.

Even when his friends have asked him to get a specific game or use a specific app he tells them no because it could be dangerous.

And even when playing the Xbox one at my mum's house with my brother (who is 15) my brother will not let him in any Co-op games, and if he is playing online with his friends, he tells his friends that his nephew is there so that they are all aware there's a child around and make sure they don't say anything inappropriate.

I suppose I'm lucky that he isn't bothered too much by limits and is confident enough to tell his friends no.

The app sounds good. It will be interesting to see what other parents think of apps and what age they should be used from, as I don't tend to pay attention to age ratings on games and films and go with what I feel is appropriate (I watch or play first before deciding) so this could be useful for apps that don't use or that I'm unsure about.

[OhDearToby]

My eldest is obsessed with Animal Jam. You can control it via a parent account and control whether they have access to chat features and such. It's quite educational too, it's made by national geographic so it has lots of animal facts incorporated into the mini games.

She's not on social media yet, that's a long way off! Don't think she even knows what Facebook is.

[asuwere]

I actually just used the net aware site today as DS1 asked if he could get Snapchat and I wanted to know what it was. (I don't use any social media). Very useful site with good information.

I have parental controls on DCs tablets and am usually in the same room as them when they're using them. They do use YouTube, with privacy and age settings on and I check their history regularly.
I do speak to DC about safety and they know why I check their settings. I hope that being open and honest with them means they will stay open with me and come to me with any worries or concerns.

[Badders123]

My dc - 13 and 8 - both have ipads.
Ds1 doesnt have many apps at all apart from things like skyscanner and the stargazing one (which is Amazing!)
He mostly uses his for watching clips on you tube and netflix/Amazon video
Ds2 uses lots of apps like Minecraft, Pokemon etc
When he was younger we used educational apps like hairy letters and the cbeebies.
We don't really have time limits per se - they both do lots of sports and ds2 is learning piano so I'm not too concerned on use
We have a ps3 and ps4 that are hardly used tbh
We will have to set limits for ds1 once he starts year 10 (gsce year)

[Badders123]

Sorry - should have me mentioned social media...
Neither have it not will they until they are older
The nspcc site appears informative on a quick view...will look at it more later

[Badders123]

Personally I use Twitter, mumsnet and have just joined facebook for access to school groups

[ArchieStar]

My DD 3 loves the fisher price apps and YouTube to watch Alphablocks and doc mcstuffins!

Unobserved screen time can be dangerous IMO, there was a news article not long ago about fake peppa pig episodes on YouTube that seemed legit but showed peppa murdering Elsa and Anna, etc. Very scary.

[Hopezibah]

My sons are addicted to rolling sky, angry birds, crossy road (my son is one of the world's best players at that to give an idea of just how addicted he is!!!) - I think for those games my main worry has been in-app purchases but we've locked down their ipads and have explained it's unwise to spend money on in-app purchases - thankfully not had any issues.

So far we've discouraged them from using games that connect with other users to be able to 'chat' etc.

They did go through a phase of adoring moshi monsters and we encouraged them to only 'friend' people they actually knew in real life. I was also impressed that moshi monsters seem very clued up on the safety side of things so i never had big concerns.

what concerns me more is when they are old enough for social media - that will feel a lot more out of control.

[CopperPan]

DCs use Minecraft, Pokemon, Subway Surfers, Clash of Clans. We use Whatsapp and Skype to keep in touch with family. They are usually under my supervision and I check their accounts regularly to see what they've been up to.

[CaptainCanaryLove]

I have downloaded the kids version of YouTube for my toddler and only use the original for myself. I feel much more confident letting her use the kiddy one.

She enjoys the Bimi Boo apps. In the past she liked Fisher Price. She has only really started to play on the iPad properly in the last few weeks (she's 2 and a half) I don't mind her doing puzzle games and colouring activities, it's another medium for her to learn from and be creative, and she enjoys it thoroughly.

It's easy at this age though. I can sit with her and play together and she gets bored pretty quickly. I'm quite concerned about when she's older and wanting to play by herself for longer periods of time, then even older than that with the whole social media thing and communicating privately with others. It is something I will be taking very seriously as I am from the age of the dawning of the internet when we used chat rooms and most people had little idea the dangers that lurked! I now realise I was talking to a predator both at 14 and 17!!!

Will be checking the app out now thanks Nspcc.

[purplewaterbottle]

My 3 year old (nearly 4) DD uses YouTube Kids and Netflix pretty regularly. She also likes games such as supermario kart and angry birds.

[BeeMyBaby]

My DDs are 5&7, currently they just use Netflix, iPlayer and some games. There are no apps which they play which allow them to chat to other people online, however a couple of them do allow them to play against other people online. I think we will continue to only have apps without communication abilities for the foreseeable future.

[FoofFighter]

DC is 3 and has very limited supervised time on the tablet.
After getting recommendations from friends I've downloaded the CBeebies apps and a few games such as the Peppa Pig ones which are paid for but excellent. I took off the YouTube kids app as it kept throwing up homemade videos masquerading as Fireman Sam for eg. This was even with the settings on strictest level possible. She didn't see anything dodgy but I wasn't taking that chance.

DC isn't allowed to browse on her own or to dl games.

[MakeTeaNotWar]

I personally use lots of social media apps = Facebook, Twitter, Instagram but the DCs only use Cbeebies app, You Tube kids, Sky Go Kids and parental controls on their Kindle Fires. I'm happy that they shouldn't come across anything untoward on these platforms so I let them use these apps unsupervised.

[ButterflyOfFreedom]

I use Facebook, Mumsnet, eBay & BBC apps as my main ones. I'm not especially into apps as such but know there are ones for almost anything & everything!

My DC are too young to access anything by themselves but I have been known to search YouTube for the likes of Peppa Pig & In the Night Garden...

[GoodyGoodyGumdrops]

Communication. Talk, listen, show interest. Ask them for advice. If you are on their social media, respect their space: by all means read, but don't comment unnecessarily, don't embarrass them.

[katiewalters]

My 3year old loves the kids youtube app and my 8year old loves the minecraft and roblox app. Both have time limits on the ipad and tablet, there are parental controls and they csnt download any apps without my permission, as i have to put a password in.

[Cagliostro]

DS (7) just loves games really. Monument valley is his favourite. He's not remotely fussed - or even aware, he is likely autistic and is happy in his own little world - about what other people play or do on tablets so he's never asked for social media etc.

DD (9) is a different kettle of fish. She will come back from friends' houses asking for this and that. I have said she can use certain games - and actually animal jam I think is brilliant for the learning potential, DD is always telling me facts she learns on it. But on any games with a chat feature, she is not allowed to do that. So the game Star Stable she can use but she can't join any group chats.

It has caused arguments occasionally because she ends up feeling left out. Not from friends specifically but just that other people generally are using the chat function (it pops up on the screen regardless). But I've said if it is such a problem that it's stopping her enjoying the game, then she can stop playing the game. I have explained in simple terms why it's not safe for a child to chat with people online and she does get it.

Screen time is half an hour a day each, always in the room with me (kindle/laptop). They like YouTube as well but as I am there I can check they aren't clicking on anything weird. They like drawing tutorials and Lego promos etc and now use the camera app to make their own.

I do worry I am getting it wrong though, I often find myself wondering if I should let DD on the chat thing, but she is for the most part happy not to so I am sticking to it for the moment.

She has not asked for Facebook etc yet but she knows the age rules anyway. She has used snapchat on my (adult) DSDs' phones but just for funny filters etc.

[CordeliaScott]

DD is 2 and loves playing with my iPad. I have downloaded sky kids, Peppa's Paintbox, Boj's Hoppy Birthday, Boj's Musical Mayhem and Boj the Collector. These are all suitable for her age and she doesn't seem interested at the moment in any of the other apps on the pad (presumably as there are no cartoon characters if she clicks on them). As she can't write she is relatively safe on the tablet as she is unable to be able to access anything more questionable

[MycatsaPirate]

My DD plays Roblox. She's 11. She loves playing the games on there but is very aware that 'not everyone is who they say they are'.

I have drummed it into her repeatedly that anyone can pretend to be anyone else. She does not engage with chat except with her school friends.

She is not on any other apps. The only other thing she does is use the internet for homework research and Netflix to watch Spongebob (although she'd deny that if you asked her in front of her friends).

[ouryve]

13yo DS1 spends most of his time between Pokemon Go, Magikarp Jump and various mapping apps. He doesn't do any social networking, other than emailing me and his grandma about various trivial bits and bobs.

11yo DS2 spends most of his time on youtube. This week he is mostly playing dashcam video footage of people's journeys on various motorways he's familiar with, mostly acompanied by rousing classical music. He's particularly fond of a good Tchiakovsky or Beethoven finale and is particularly taken by Ode to Joy. He has very limited speech, but has been singing in cod German! Wunderlich! Wunderlich! Obviously, chatting and social media isn't even on is radar. We do have to keep an eye on what he's viewing, though. One particular road trip video featured a lot of rather iffy language, but he didn't like the music, so didn't go back to that one, anyhow.

[theresamustgo]

DS who is 8 uses Minecraft PE and Youtube. I limit it on,y by barking at him now and again. I also ask him what he is watching periodically. At the moment he has internalised the edicts fripom school and immediately leaves any sites where there is swearing or fishy stuff, but for how long?

[gamerwidow]

YouTube with strict filtering on mostly but also some kids games like Toca kitchen etc.