Broadening Horizons. Brightening Futures
A Parent’s Guide to Gaming
Gaming can be real fun and help develop some great skills. They are designed by the best minds to hook in children and become addictive. But for many parents, it seems like a foreign world.
Each game has an age rating (PEGI)
The rating indicates if the game is suitable for your child’s age and they also reflect the main reason why a game is rated.
Think before you chat!
Age ratings do not apply to the chat part of an online game. Most online games allow children to talk and message others directly whilst playing. Age ratings will not restrict the type of conversation or language used.
Strangers play online gaming
There are many people playing online and not everyone is who they say they are. Some people are not nice and play online games as a way to talk to children. They use voice changer headsets so they can trick and sound like a child.
Not everyone is a winner
Some games are good at encouraging young people to buy extra features and in-game rewards. This is simply a trick to get parents to spend real money in return for imaginary prizes in an imaginary world.
Always encourage your child to: Tell a parent or trusted adult, like a teacher.
Our children are growing up in a digital world and it’s a good idea to start building up their digital resilience, as many 3-4 year olds use the internet and almost half of parents worry about the time their children spend online.
Allowing children to access appropriate content online shouldn’t be a worry provided that you take a balanced approach. There are some exciting and fun learning opportunities, as long as you talk about how they use the technology and the risks they may come across. Many tools are available to help you manage all your devices like parental controls, children’s profiles and other safety features. Make sure you know how to get help, like activating privacy settings and understanding how to make a report on the services, apps or games that they use.
Internet safety checklist for pre-school children:
✓ Explore together – explore and talk about the internet together so you can show them all the fun things they can do and learn
✓ Put yourself in control – install parental controls on your home broadband, so you can manage what your child can see and do and who they can interact with. Most internet –enabled devices also allow you to set parental controls
✓ Use passwords – keep your devices out of reach and set passwords on all your internet–enabled devices Then you’ll know when and where your child is accessing the internet and you can make sure they are not making additional purchases when they are playing games
✓ Search safely – use child-friendly search engines like Swiggle and Kids-search and YouTube Kids and add them to your favourites bar. Safe search settings can also be activated on search engines like Google, Chrome, Firefox etc
✓ Be involved – encourage them to use devices in a communal area so you can monitor how they are using the internet and also share in their enjoyment
✓ Help them learn through games – choose fun, safe and educational online games to play on sites like CBeebies, Disney Junior, Nick Jr and Fisher Price
✓ Set boundaries – set some rules about how long they can stay online
✓ Manage access - set your homepage to a child-friendly site like CBeebies and create a user account for your child on a family computer or device which only allows access to sites you’ve chosen
PARENTSAFE
Keeping your children safe: online & beyond
It's never easy to know how to keep our children safe when they aren't with us, and sometimes even when are, if we don't know what's happening in their lives or on their devices! Who are they talking to, what are they doing, are they okay? Don't despair though... click on the lick and scroll through this page for help or click a button to go straight to a particular topics.
Managing screen time
The internet opens up a wealth of opportunities for children and has become a big part of how they develop, discover and see the wider world. However, when it comes to screen time, moderation is key as it can have an affect your child’s brain. Too much screen time can affect children's development (including social and emotional development), their physical health and can disrupt sleep and affect sleep cycles. Physical activity and sleep are really important. Make sure screens are not displacing these things by keeping screens out of bedrooms at bed time and by creating opportunities for your child to be active each day. Devices should be avoided in the hour before bed to promote healthy sleep. One size does not fit all when it comes to screen time – it is more about getting it right for your families needs. Families should negotiate screen time limits with their children based upon the needs of an individual child and the ways in which screens are used. Devices should not replace sleep, exercise or family time.
Top tips to manage screen time:
1. Set a good example with your own device use. Children will tend to model their behaviours on you, so if you start reading a book, they may follow your lead.
2. Talk together about the time they spend online. Understand what they are doing, and explain your concerns.
3. Agree an appropriate length of time that they can use their device. Put in place a family agreement to set some boundaries and don’t break them.
4. Get the whole family to unplug and create 'screen free' zones at home.
5. Avoid using screen time as a reward.
6. Use technology and apps to help manage screen time. For example, the Forest app enables them to grow a beautiful forest each day they don't use their phone for a set amount of time. The iPad’s ‘Guided Access’ limits the time you can access any given app, which can be great for younger children.
saferinternet.org.uk/advice-centre/parents-and-carers
Pre-school online safety advice saferinternet.org.uk [Resources for 3-11]
Keeping under 5’s safe online childnet.com
Keeping children safe online CBeebies bbc.co.uk/grownups
Keeping your under 5 safe online thinkuknow.co.uk
Online Safety nspcc.org.uk
Internet Matters - for support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online
New Aware - for support for parents and careers from the NSPCC
Parent Info - for support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online
Thinkuknow - for advice from the National Crime Agency to stay safe online
UK Safer Internet Centre - advice for parents and carers
London Grid for Learning - for support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online
Parent Info from CEOP and parent zone - help and advice for families in a digital world
WhatsApp Guide - information and top tips for parents about WhatsApp
Netflix Guidance - step by step instructions for setting up parental controls
Digiduck’s Big Decision
A story for 3 to 7 year olds about being a good friend to others on the internet.