Your child’s
first digital steps
Young children online
The positives
• Research shows that tech skills and confidence are associated with improved resilience online –
so kids who use tech from a young age may be more prepared to deal with risks later on.
• Lots of opportunities for creativity and learning in the digital age…
Tynker – app to help young children learn about programming.
Night Zookeeper – children complete ‘drawing missions’ and
create digital books based on a zoo full of magical animals.
Endless Reader – helps young children learn to read using
colourful monsters and activities.
Exercise
Think about one activity your child goes to. Before they
started…
What questions did you have?
The WWW approach
Just like offline, it matters…
W
W
W
Who influences your child.
What they do.
Where they go.
WHO influences your child’s online behaviour
• Companies and brands – through
advertising on sites they visit.
• Older siblings – may access sites that
aren’t appropriate for young
children.
• Other carers/adults – may not have
the same rules and controls.
• You!
WHAT your child does online
• Passively watching programmes and
videos.
• Observing other people’s activity –
gaming, seeing videos a sibling is watching
etc.
• Accidental online or in-app purchases,
webcams or email on a family device.
• Lots of opportunities for kids to learn, play
and be creative online – but these need to
be balanced with offline activities.
WHERE your child goes online
• Sites for children – Cbeebies, Nick
Jnr etc – that may have external
links.
• YouTube is very popular with
young children.
• Don’t forget the physical ‘where’ –
other family members’ homes,
friend’s device etc.
Using WWW – a scary YouTube video
Your child comes to you upset because of something scary he’s seen on
YouTube.
How might you use the WWW approach to help?
Ways to respond
WHO
• Ask your child if someone else showed them the video or told them what to look for.
• Find out if they watched the video on purpose or just happened to see it while someone
else was watching.
WHAT
• Talk about what they saw – reassure them in the same way you would if they saw
something upsetting offline.
WHERE
• Lots of videos on YouTube are perfectly fine for kids, so there’s nothing wrong with them
using it – but turn on SafetyMode and consider watching with them to make sure they stay
in the safe bits.
Using WWW – in-app purchases
You find out your child has spent lots of money in an app on your phone
without permission.
How might you use the WWW approach to deal with it?
Ways to respond
WHO
• Often free apps have advertising that could be confusing or misleading to a child. Check
games for adverts before letting your child play.
WHAT
• Talk about buying things online – help them understand how it works and that they need to
ask for permission first.
WHERE
• Help your child find games and apps that don’t involve lots of spending.
• Turn off in-app purchases on the devices they use.
Using WWW – acting out a video game
You notice your child acting out an inappropriate violent scenario when
playing with friends. She tells you she saw it in an age-restricted game her
brother was playing.
How might you use the WWW approach to deal with it?
Ways to respond
WHO
• Talk to her brother about playing games with mature content away from younger siblings.
WHAT
• Explain why what she was doing was inappropriate and that sometimes entertainment for
older people shows things we shouldn’t do.
WHERE
• Limit access by using parental controls on her devices.
• Try to make sure older family members wait until she’s in another room before playing or
watching mature content.
More help
Look for the Click CEOP button
http://www.parentzone.org.uk/