For parents, the summer holidays are a great chance to sit down with your children. Together you can visit their favourite sites and play their favourite games, this is a great way to stay up to date with online lives and show them that you’re interested in what they are doing. The holidays are also a good opportunity to have positive conversations about the internet, so if something ever does upset your child online they would feel more confident in confiding in you.

Online safety for children with SEND | NSPCC

Not sure where to begin? These conversation starter suggestions can help.

• Ask your children to tell you about the sites they like to visit and what they enjoy doing online.
• Ask them about how they stay safe online. What tips do they have for you, and where did they learn them? What is OK and not OK to share?
• Ask them if they know where to go for help, where to find the safety advice, privacy settings and how to report or block on the services they use.
• Encourage them to help someone! Perhaps they can show you how to do something better online or they might have a friend who would benefit from their help and support.
• Think about how you each use the internet. What more could you do to use the internet together? Are there activities that you could enjoy as a family?

These downloadable resources aim to support families who face very specific challenges and ensure your online safety advice is more inclusive:

Helping your child with cyberbullying in games PowerPoint Presentation (nspcc.org.uk)