As December is here, so too comes the big countdown to Christmas and the summer school holidays. Children are abuzz with excitement of what is to come as parents busily juggle the festive demands of the holiday season. Whilst it is the season to be jolly, it can also be a chaos-filled time.
With more people on the road, holiday crowds to contend with and parents and carers managing work commitments, it’s a good idea to ensure children are aware of some basic safety tips.
It’s important not to underestimate the value of teaching children about simple safety rules to help keep themselves, siblings and friends safe this holiday season. With a few enlightening conversations, you can help your kids avoid potentially dangerous situations and reduce the worry so you can enjoy a stress-free holiday too.
Here are some helpful ways to educate your kids without overwhelming them.
Cyber Safety for Kids: Tips
We are living in a world where mobile devices are readily available to kids today. It can be a real challenge for parents to navigate. Ensuring your kids are aware of some key cyber safety practices can empower them to make good and safe online choices and is a good place to start.
- Protect your personal details. Help your kids understand if you would not share your phone number and address with a stranger you meet in person, why would you do this online?
- Privacy. If children utilise social media sites, make sure their privacy settings are restricted to ‘friends only’ and set to ‘private’. Educate them on making sensible choices of what information to upload and things they need to consider before posting.
- Screentime Family Rules. Set some family rules which place guidelines for healthy and safe use of online devices. i.e., set time limits for games, ensure parental controls are active, restrict device use to certain times of the day and in a common family space.
For more information, eSafety for parents by the eSafety Commissioner is a great resource and provides some helpful tips and ideas on conversation starters. Constable Care Foundation also offers programs Screen Name and Trending for primary school students, focusing on some of the key cyber safety risks for kids.
Next up ➡️ Holiday Cheer and Back-to-Basics Safety: Be Crowd Safe
