What’s your best online safety tip? Share it for the chance to win a £200 Tesco eGift Card

[CeriMumsnet]

Keeping children safe online can feel like a constant battle against big tech firms. Just when you think you’ve got it all sorted, there’s a new app, game or group chat to contend with.

So what has actually worked for you and your family?

Perhaps you’ve found a useful parental-control tool, introduced a family rule that miraculously avoids arguments, or discovered a good way to get your child talking about what they’re doing online. Maybe there’s something you learned the hard way that other parents would benefit from knowing.

We’re working with Tesco Mobile to help equip parents with the tools they need to approach online safety conversations with their children.

Everyone who posts on the thread below by 5 September for your chance to win a £200 Tesco eGift Cards. (T&Cs)

And if you don’t have an answer but do have a question, post that too. What aspect of keeping your children safe online are you struggling with at the moment? Chances are, another Mumsnet user has been there, done that.

I think having open and honest conversations and explaining in straightforward language is key. Dont get too caught up in it and ensure you are always present when they are online uo until 10 years. Plus give time limited slots so yoy can really monitor then when the child is order they have all the right info and can raise anything that they are unsure about.

Keep up to date with technology and talk to kids from an early age about how to keep safe.

As a family, we use our tech openly - we all know one another's PIN numbers & my son is aware we check his phone to monitor messages/who he is in contact with. This has been helpful in picking up any issues & discussing them openly, explaining concerns & talking about ways forward.
Smart phones are going to go away any time soon, neither is social media - but hopefully it will lose it's allure as time goes on.
We have various restrictions in place - parental controls on the the broadband provider for adult content, permission requests for new app downloads, etc. If there is a new app he wants to download that I'm not aware of - I'll ask him to explain it to me, what the intention of the app is & how he intends to use it. I'll do some research & if it's a reasonable request - I'm ok with it, if I have concerns - I'll explain why the answer is no.
I'll initiate discussions around online safety, & occasionally he will too - but they cover it a lot in school which I think answers most of his questions.
Thankfully he's never been interested in Roblox, & friends he plays online with are all friends from school. I'm nosy - I'll admit it, but I'd rather be nosy & have him roll his eyes at me, than say nothing & hope for the best!

Phones stored downstairs for sure!
Although it is rare for us to check, we have made it clear that the kids phones are open for us to check when we feel the need.
My kids do have online safety lessons regularly at school but then sometimes they will surprise me with a behaviour and we do need to occasionally have a chat.

There are online resources. Kayleigh's Love Story is a true story about a young teen and the consequences of online 'friends'. You can easily find it on YouTube.

The Breck Foundation has lots of information.

Both these are resources set up by parents whose children were murdered, obviously the internet didn't kill them, killers did but they used the internet to get to their victims.

With my DS starting high school in September, I’ve set parental controls on our BT router with age-appropriate content restrictions and time limits, which also protects his younger siblings. I’ll keep an open conversation about online safety and, where appropriate, monitor group chats so I know who he’s talking to and can spot any concerns early.

We obviously use technological controls too but the most important thing to me is to have conversations with them. To discuss the different risks with the internet and how to manage them . It's a fairly regular meal time conversation.

A combination of things have worked for us. We use all available parental controls, we have to authorise app downloads, we have been talking to our son since he was very young about the dangers online and we encourage open and honest communication. So far, we haven’t had any issues and our eldest is 17, so we will use this with our younger ones too.
i think it’s really important to acknowledge that the internet is ever changing and things like parental controls need to be regularly reviewed, alongside phone and privacy settings.

What works for us is child age settings on all electronics that can only be updated or changed by mum or dad, also have alerts and updates set to shows what our kids have been viewing/watching/playing. We also pop a gps tracker in out child's bag if they go out without a parent. Netflix also shows is what shows they watch too. I am happy we have all these things as I think its needed in today's environment.

I have made all the classic mistakes with my older two and am learning with my 12 year old. She has no phone, has limits on screentime on her ipad and, crucially, 2 older siblings that back me up on all the limits I set for her. They fully understand why she should not have access to all the Y7 whatsapp groups and help me to figure it all out! So my tip, talk to your older children, neices, nephews, neighbours etc. Basically anyone who is 16 -20 and they will tell you!

Talking openly and honestly to them, and having discussions about why things have parental controls. My son and I often talk about what parental controls are on, and talk about changes to them when he gets older. Openness is the safety way

Taking ownership of it, modelling and not trying to make it the tech company / government's fault...

We use family link, but discovered it took away all controls when the child reached 13. Fortunately that's not been an issue for our child, but could be for many.

All gadgets have to be downstairs overnight (ours too), so there's no possibility of through the night scrolling.

Most important thing is open conversation with children as to the possible dangers and what to do if something happens they're not comfortable with.

At around 8 or 9, I think parental controls are really helpful, especially when children are starting to research homework and watch films online. We use age-appropriate settings, restricted profiles and parental controls on Youtube kids - which keeps them entertained on holiday.
My best tip is what I did earlier this year is to set the controls together and explain why they’re there, rather than making them feel like a punishment. I also think regular little conversations about what they’re watching, searching for and who they might be talking to work much better than one big “online safety talk”.
I am not the most tech savvy though - I hope my little geniuses won't sabotage the controls I've set up - though I'll be checking and they know I do.

Open discussions.
Parental controls.
Limited screen time.
No devices in bedrooms (or open door policy at least).
Watch relevant documentaries with them (age appropriate obviously) like the one Emma & Matt Willis did. That was an eye opener for our DC.

screen time limits and app limits within that. No devices in bedroom. An agreement that at any time I can check their devices, not because I don’t trust them though

Starting high school at 11 is a big step, so my best tip is to gradually give them more responsibility online gradually in year 6, while still keeping sensible parental controls in place. 📱 I make sure they know which apps they’re using, who they’re talking to and, most importantly, that they can come to me without worrying about getting into trouble. It’s about giving them independence but keeping the door open for those important conversations. They know that if trust is broken then there are consequences.

I’ve been very open and honest about what can happen online and my son has always known that he can talk to me about anything that concerns him. He’s come to me with a WhatsApp group chat that worried him (for good reason, as it turned out) and always asks about who he is and isn’t allowed to chat to.

So far we have managed to avoid too many battles about devices. The kids have a switch but I have put limits on it and don't allow them to communicate with others on it. There have been a few requests/moans that they don't have a tablet of their own or games like Minecraft but I've explained that I want them to enjoy their childhood and so far that's worked. With my daughter entering year 6 I know things will change and I'm nervous as to what's ahead

Making sure your children understand what online harm looks like and what to do about it. My son was involved in a safeguarding incident online. We monitored devices, had parental controls but it still got through on a school WhatsApp group. He realised simething was wrong very early on and spoke up to the school safeguarding person..