What children wish we understood about their online lives

Managing children’s screen time and online safety can feel overwhelming. Smartphones, group chats, gaming and videos are now part of everyday childhood - yet many parents worry about exposure to harmful content, constant scrolling, disrupted sleep and pressure from social media.

Today, parents are confronted with a seemingly impossible situation: do you let your child go online and risk them being exposed to harmful content? Or do you prevent them accessing a part of the world which is now a daily part of young adolescence?

- Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza

That’s the backdrop for What I Wish My Parents or Carers Knew About the Online World, a new guide from the Children’s Commissioner for England. Written specifically for parents and carers, it aims to explain children’s online lives in practical, accessible terms, and to help families talk about digital wellbeing with more confidence.

Rather than focusing on fear or restriction, the guide takes a child-centred approach. It draws on what young people themselves say about being online, exploring both the positives - connection, creativity and relaxation - and the pressures, including group chats, comparison and upsetting or confusing content.

Screen time isn’t just about limits

One of the guide’s core messages is that there’s no single 'correct' approach to screen time. Technology changes quickly, children mature at different rates, and what works for one family may not work for another.

Rather than relying solely on bans or rigid time limits, the guide encourages parents to focus on communication and context - what children are doing online, how it makes them feel, and how digital life fits alongside sleep, school and offline time. For many families, this also means choosing technology that can adapt as children grow, rather than forcing repeated leaps to ever more complex devices.

Devices like the Other phone offer flexible features that allow parents to tailor safety settings as their child matures, helping them learn to navigate the online world safely without needing to replace the device every few years. This gradual, adjustable approach mirrors the guide’s emphasis on revisiting boundaries and building confidence over time.

Online safety starts with confidence

Ultimately, What I Wish My Parents or Carers Knew About the Online World is less about managing devices and more about building confidence - for parents as well as children.

For anyone navigating screen time worries, online safety concerns or the decision about a child’s first phone, it offers a calm, practical message. You don’t need to get everything right immediately. What matters most is communication, trust, and choosing tools - whether that’s conversations, boundaries or age-appropriate tech like the Other phone - that help your child grow safely and confidently in a digital world.

Talk early - and talk often. Meet your child with patience, compassion for them navigating this new and rapidly developing world - the same compassion we deserve for ourselves - and with kindness. Trust your instincts and take the steps to educate yourself.

- Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza