Get advice on what conversations to have with your child. As well as which controls and filters you can use to prevent your child from seeing online pornography and other adult material.
It’s good for your child to know that they can, and should, come to you if they come across something upsetting online. Make sure they know that you won’t overreact or be shocked by whatever they tell you.#
Give them positive messages. It’s important to talk to them about loving sexual relationships – to understand how to be respectful in relationships.
Curiosity about sex and interest is a normal part of a child’s development. If your child is young and has come across pornography by mistake, they are much more likely to need reassurance and support.
Pornography can be a difficult subject to talk about with children, especially younger ones. But it’s important to let your child know that pornography doesn’t show a realistic picture of sex and relationships. Explore our guide of dos and don’ts for having an age-appropriate conversation about online porn with your child.
Children in the UK are exposed to online pornography – on average – by the age of thirteen, so it’s important to be proactive, rather than waiting for the issue to arise. There are a number of benefits to having a conversation with your child:
It’s also important to explore what your child already knows and understands. For example, what they may have learnt from their school, peers or older siblings. And remember, Ii you seem embarrassed to talk about sex and pornography your child will also feel uncomfortable and will be less likely to let you know if they have seen sexual images.
Try techniques like getting them to write things down, or start conversations when they don’t have to look you in the eye, for example, when in the car, or walking home from school.
Setting filters to block pornography and explicit online content is great to protect your child’s online safety. However, content blockers shouldn’t be used as a substitute for talking about the issue and tackling it face-to-face:
Parental controls should be installed on every device your child uses: mobile phone, tablet and games consoles (both home and handheld).
We’ve created simple step by step guides to protect your family from inappropriate content online. We’ll show you step by step information on how to set parental controls across your home broadband and a range of mobile devices, games consoles and entertainment sites that your children might use.
Look in the browser history at the search terms your child has been using and the sites they’ve visited. Keep an eye on the apps they’ve downloaded on their phones too. If you find something that you feel is inappropriate, you can add it to your parental controls filter list.
If you have a young child, encourage them to use child-friendly search engines, such as Swiggle or Kids-search.
Safe search settings can also be activated through Google and Bing parental controls. For other search engines, go to their safety settings page. Don’t forget to opt for the safety mode on YouTube, iTunes and Google Play.
See more articles and resources to help children stay safe online
