Talking about online safety

It might seem difficult to start a conversation about online behaviour and more specifically about online safety but by talking as regularly about online activities as you would about your child's experience at school can help make this a natural process and help to:

Reassure them that you're interested in their life, offline and online. Recognise that they'll be using the internet to research homework as well as talking to their friends.
ask your child to show you what they enjoy doing online or apps they're using so you can understand them.
be positive but also open about anything you're worried about. You could say "I think this site's really good" or "I'm a little worried about things I've seen here."
ask them if they're worried about anything, and let them know they can come to you.
ask them about their friends online and how they know they are who they say they are.
listen for the reasons why your child wants to use apps or site you don't think are suitable, so you can talk about these together.
ask your child what they think's okay for children of different ages so they feel involved in the decision making.