New Year is a great time to make some new resolutions. Here are some ideas of online safety resolutions you could make as a family in 2018
Have an open and honest conversation
The easiest way to get involved with your children’s online lives is through discussion. You might like to start by asking them about what they enjoy doing online, or take a look at our conversation starters to help you start a discussion. However you choose to do it, resolving to talk with your children regularly about their internet use is a fantastic way to help keep them safe online in 2018.
Create a family agreement
This is a great way to think about your internet use as a family and to help make sure that everybody understands the importance of staying safe and positive online. Take a look at our free family agreement template and guidance to come up with an agreement that works for you and your family.
Take a look at accounts, whether gaming, social media or email
This is a really practical resolution that might help start a conversation with your children about their digital footprint. By taking a look at accounts, you can check your privacy and security settings and review what each member of your family has shared online in 2017 (or even further back!) and whether you’re happy for it to stay there. You could also consider whether you’re still using old accounts and think about deleting or deactivating any that you don’t use anymore.
Play and use the internet together
The internet has lots of exciting things to see and do – why not resolve to spend some time as a family exploring the online world together? You could play some of your child’s favourite games or research a topic you both find interesting. This is a great opportunity to make sure that everyone is aware of the safety features offered on different games or to talk about what information we can trust online.
Know how to report and block
There are lots of really useful tools online to help you deal with behaviour or content that is upsetting, and it is important that you as a parent know where to go to if your child needs help reporting or blocking online. For 2018 a good resolution might be to look at the different options for reporting and blocking available on the sites your family use and to make sure that everybody understands them and feels confident using them. More information about reporting can be found on our social media guide, these have guidance about a range of sites including Snapchat, Instagram and MovieStarPlanet.
Get involved with Safer Internet Day 2018!
Last but not least, why not resolve to get involved with Safer Internet Day 2018. Coming up on the 6th February, Safer Internet Day will be celebrated globally and this year is focussing on the theme ‘Create, connect and share respect: a better internet starts with you’. Take a look at the UK Safer Internet Centre website to register as a supporter of the day or to download some of the free resources and videos made especially for parents and carers to use on the day.
