Online child safety

Computers, digital devices and the internet form part of a child’s learning at school, in family and social life, and at work (for older children).

There can be risks when children are online. If left unsupervised, children may be at risk of danger or seeing inappropriate content.

Protect your child’s safety online

The steps you can take to help your children spend time online in safe way.

• Be aware of who your child talks to online. If they aren’t friends in person, ask your child how they know them.
• Be aware of the social media your child uses. Review any posts they make, and who they are messaging.
• Talk to your child about the dangers of sharing personal information and images online (including intimate images). Once posted, they can be easily distributed by others and become hard to remove.
• Ensure your child uses computers and devices in shared areas of your home.
• If your child becomes worried about someone they’ve met online, ensure they stop contact immediately.
• To learn more about your child’s use of computers and IT at school, talk with your child’s teachers.

For more information and resources for parents, visit the parents page on the eSafety Commissioner website.

Secure devices and accounts for children

Set the devices your child uses up for privacy and online safety by:

• Using parental controls on computers, phones and other devices. Parental controls can help monitor and control screen time, and access to online content.
• Enabling safe search settings on browsers, search engines, applications (apps) and YouTube.
• Selecting the highest privacy settings on any social media accounts your child uses.

For more advice, visit the eSafety Commissioner website.

Resources

Learn about staying safe from cybercrime as a family in the Financial and cybercrime awareness family activity book: