Digital and social safety
Digital & Social Safety: What Every Parent Should Know
Helping children stay safe, healthy, and confident in a connected world
Technology offers children opportunities to learn, communicate, explore, and develop new skills. However, the digital world also presents risks, including exposure to inappropriate content, cyberbullying, online predators, privacy violations, and excessive screen time.
Parents play an essential role in helping children develop healthy digital habits, recognize unsafe situations, and navigate online relationships responsibly.
1. Screen Time: Establishing Healthy Digital Habits
Excessive screen time can interfere with sleep, physical activity, learning, and face-to-face social interactions.
Recommended screen time guidelines
Under 18 months: Avoid routine screen use except for video chatting with family members.
18–24 months: Introduce high-quality educational content only with adult supervision and participation.
2–5 years: Generally limit screen time to approximately one hour per day of high-quality programming.
6 years and older: Establish consistent limits that protect sleep, exercise, schoolwork, family interactions, and emotional wellbeing.
What parents can do
Establish screen-free times, particularly during meals and before bedtime.
Keep electronic devices out of children's bedrooms overnight.
Encourage outdoor activities, reading, creative play, and social interactions.
Watch educational content together and discuss what children are learning.
Model healthy technology habits by limiting your own unnecessary screen use.
Key message: The quality of digital content and its impact on a child's daily life matter as much as the number of hours spent on screens.
2. Online Predators: Protecting Children From Exploitation
Online predators may use social media, gaming platforms, messaging applications, and chat rooms to contact children.
Some individuals gradually build trust with children before attempting to manipulate, exploit, or harm them. This process is commonly called online grooming.
Warning signs parents should recognize
A child becomes secretive about online conversations.
An unknown person sends gifts, money, or gaming credits.
Someone asks the child to keep conversations secret from parents.
An online contact requests personal photographs or videos.
Someone attempts to move conversations to private or encrypted messaging platforms.
An online acquaintance pressures the child to meet in person.
A child becomes unusually anxious, withdrawn, or distressed after using a device.
How to protect your child
Know which websites, games, and applications your child uses.
Review privacy settings and restrict communication with strangers.
Teach children never to share personal information or intimate images.
Explain that people online may not be who they claim to be.
Encourage children to report uncomfortable interactions immediately.
Maintain open conversations without blaming or shaming children who disclose concerning experiences.
Important: If you suspect online sexual exploitation, preserve relevant evidence without forwarding or downloading explicit images. Report the situation to the platform and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
CyberTipline: report.cybertip.org
If a child is in immediate danger, contact 911.
3. Cyberbullying: Recognizing and Preventing Online Harassment
Cyberbullying occurs when someone uses digital technology to threaten, embarrass, intimidate, or repeatedly harass another person.
It may involve hurtful messages, spreading rumors, sharing embarrassing photographs, impersonation, or exclusion from online groups.
Signs your child may be experiencing cyberbullying
Suddenly avoiding their phone, computer, or school.
Becoming upset after receiving messages.
Changes in sleep, appetite, or mood.
Withdrawal from friends or family.
Declining academic performance.
Low self-esteem, anxiety, or persistent sadness.
What parents should do
Listen calmly and take the child's concerns seriously.
Reassure the child that they deserve to feel safe.
Save screenshots and relevant messages as evidence.
Block and report abusive accounts when appropriate.
Contact the school if the bullying involves classmates or affects school safety.
Seek professional mental health support if emotional distress persists.
Teach children not to participate in bullying, forward humiliating content, or encourage harassment.
Key message: Children should know they can ask for help without automatically losing access to their devices or being punished for reporting a problem.
4. Social Media Safety: What Parents Need to Know
Social media can influence children's self-esteem, relationships, behavior, and emotional development.
Potential risks include exposure to harmful content, unrealistic beauty standards, social comparison, misinformation, cyberbullying, and unwanted contact from strangers.
Essential safety recommendations
Follow platform minimum-age requirements, recognizing that meeting the minimum age does not necessarily mean a child is ready.
Delay independent social media use until the child demonstrates appropriate maturity.
Use private accounts whenever possible.
Limit who can send direct messages, comments, and friend requests.
Disable unnecessary location-sharing features.
Review followers and online contacts together.
Teach children to avoid posting personal identifying information.
Discuss how edited photographs, filters, and algorithms can distort reality.
Encourage children to think critically about online trends and challenges.
Conversations every parent should have
Ask your child:
How do you feel after spending time on social media?
Have you ever seen something online that made you uncomfortable?
Has anyone contacted you online whom you do not know personally?
Do you ever feel pressured to look or behave a certain way because of social media?
Would you feel comfortable telling me if something upsetting happened online?
Key message: Parents should remain actively involved in their children's digital lives while gradually allowing age-appropriate independence.
5. Protecting Children's Privacy and Personal Information
Children may not understand how easily personal information can be collected, shared, or misused.
Information posted online can remain accessible long after it was originally shared.
Teach children never to share publicly
Their home address.
Phone numbers or passwords.
School name, daily schedule, or regular locations.
Live location or travel plans.
Financial or identification information.
Personal photographs that reveal sensitive information.
What parents should do
Use strong, unique passwords and enable multifactor authentication.
Review application permissions, especially camera, microphone, and location access.
Disable unnecessary geolocation and public profile features.
Teach children to recognize suspicious links and messages.
Avoid posting photographs that reveal a child's school, address, or routine.
Consider the child's privacy before sharing personal information or embarrassing photographs online.
Important: Even photographs shared by parents can unintentionally reveal identifying details about their children.
6. Online Gaming Safety
Online games may include messaging, voice chat, purchases, and interactions with strangers.
These features can expose children to inappropriate language, harassment, scams, and unwanted contact.
Safety precautions
Check game age ratings and review online communication features.
Disable public chat or restrict communication to approved contacts.
Teach children not to share personal information with other players.
Set spending limits and require approval for in-game purchases.
Monitor friend requests and suspicious messages.
Encourage regular breaks from gaming.
Keep gaming devices in shared family spaces when developmentally appropriate.
Key message: A game designed for children may still contain communication features that require parental supervision.
7. Sexting, Intimate Images, and Digital Exploitation
As children approach adolescence, parents should discuss the risks of sharing intimate photographs, videos, and sexually explicit messages.
Young people may experience pressure from peers, romantic partners, or online acquaintances.
Important lessons for children and teenagers
Never feel obligated to send intimate images.
Respect personal boundaries and the privacy of others.
Do not request, save, or forward someone else's intimate images.
Understand that images can be copied, shared, or used for blackmail.
Tell a trusted adult immediately if someone threatens to distribute private images.
What parents should do
Discuss these topics calmly and without judgment. Explain consent, coercion, healthy relationships, and the importance of seeking help.
If intimate images involving a minor are being used for threats or extortion, report the incident to appropriate authorities.
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children provides a free service called Take It Down, which helps limit the online spread of certain intimate images taken before age 18.
Resource: takeitdown.ncmec.org
Key message: Children who experience online exploitation need protection and support, not punishment or shame.
8. Digital Scams, Misinformation, and Artificial Intelligence
Children increasingly encounter scams, misleading information, AI-generated content, and attempts to manipulate their decisions.
Teach children to recognize
Messages promising free money, prizes, or gaming rewards.
Suspicious links asking for passwords or account information.
Fake accounts impersonating friends or celebrities.
AI-generated images, videos, or voices that may appear authentic.
False information presented as facts.
Requests to send money or personal information urgently.
Practical prevention strategies
Teach children to verify information through reliable sources.
Explain that online images and videos can be manipulated.
Encourage skepticism toward unexpected messages.
Require parental approval before online purchases.
Teach children never to share passwords or verification codes.
Explain that AI chatbots are not substitutes for trusted adults or qualified professionals.
Key message: Children should learn to question what they see online rather than automatically believing it.
9. Mental Health and Social Media
Digital experiences can affect children's emotional wellbeing, particularly when they involve social comparison, harassment, disturbing content, or disrupted sleep.
Not all technology use is harmful. Positive digital experiences may support learning, creativity, and social connection.
Warning signs of unhealthy digital use
Persistent anxiety or irritability when unable to access devices.
Significant sleep disruption.
Withdrawal from in-person relationships.
Loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities.
Declining school performance.
Negative body image or persistent social comparison.
Inability to reduce screen use despite meaningful consequences.
How parents can help
Encourage regular physical activity and offline friendships.
Establish consistent sleep routines.
Discuss social comparison and unrealistic online expectations.
Support hobbies that do not involve screens.
Encourage healthy self-esteem and emotional regulation.
Seek professional support if digital experiences are contributing to significant emotional distress.
Important: If a child expresses thoughts of suicide or self-harm, take the situation seriously and seek immediate professional assistance. In the United States, call or text 988 for crisis support. Call 911 for immediate danger.
10. Teaching Children About Healthy Relationships and Personal Boundaries
Digital safety is closely connected to social and emotional development.
Children need to understand what respectful relationships look like, both online and offline.
Essential lessons
Everyone deserves to be treated with kindness and respect.
No one has the right to pressure, threaten, or humiliate them.
Personal boundaries apply to digital communication.
Children can say no to requests that make them uncomfortable.
Secrets involving threats, inappropriate touching, or sexual images should always be shared with a trusted adult.
They should never feel obligated to respond to strangers online.
Asking for help is a sign of good judgment, not weakness.
Parents should encourage children to identify several trusted adults they can approach when something feels unsafe.
11. Parental Controls and Device Safety Settings
Parental controls can reduce children's exposure to certain online risks, but they cannot replace communication and supervision.
Important features to consider
Age-appropriate content filters.
Screen time limits.
Application download approvals.
Purchase restrictions.
Privacy and location settings.
Contact restrictions.
Safe-search features.
Reporting and blocking functions.
Parents can explore built-in tools such as Apple Screen Time, Google Family Link, and parental controls available through gaming and social media platforms.
Review these settings regularly as children grow and technology changes.
Key message: No parental control system guarantees complete protection. Open communication and active involvement remain essential.
12. Creating a Family Digital Safety Plan
Every family should establish clear expectations for technology use.
A digital safety plan helps children understand responsibilities, boundaries, and what to do when problems occur.
Your family plan should address
Which devices, applications, and websites are permitted.
When and where screens may be used.
How much recreational screen time is appropriate.
Who children may communicate with online.
What personal information must remain private.
How to respond to bullying, threats, or inappropriate messages.
Rules for downloading applications and making purchases.
How children should report uncomfortable or unsafe situations.
Consequences for unsafe behavior that are fair and age-appropriate.
When the family will review and update its digital safety rules.
A promise every parent should make
"If something happens online that scares you, embarrasses you, or makes you uncomfortable, you can always come to me. I will listen, help you, and work with you to keep you safe."
Children are more likely to disclose concerning experiences when they trust that adults will respond calmly and supportively.
Digital Safety Checklist for Parents
Use this checklist to review your family's online safety practices.
I know which applications, games, and websites my child uses.
My child's devices have age-appropriate privacy and safety settings.
I have established reasonable screen time boundaries.
My child understands not to share personal information online.
We have discussed cyberbullying and how to report it.
My child knows that online strangers may misrepresent their identity.
We have discussed inappropriate messages and requests for photographs.
My child knows how to block and report unsafe contacts.
We have established rules for online purchases and downloads.
My child knows they can ask me for help without fear of being shamed.
We regularly discuss online experiences and digital wellbeing.
Our family has a digital safety plan.
The Five Most Important Digital Safety Messages for Parents
1. Stay involved in your child's digital life.
Know which platforms your child uses, who they communicate with, and what types of content they encounter.
2. Make communication your strongest safety tool.
Create an environment where children feel comfortable discussing uncomfortable or frightening online experiences.
3. Protect privacy and personal information.
Teach children that information shared online can be difficult or impossible to remove completely.
4. Recognize warning signs early.
Changes in mood, behavior, sleep, friendships, or school performance may indicate problems involving digital technology.
5. Teach responsible digital citizenship.
Help children develop empathy, critical thinking, healthy boundaries, and respect for themselves and others.
Trusted Resources for Parents
For additional guidance, visit:
American Academy of Pediatrics: healthychildren.org — Screen time, digital wellbeing, and parenting recommendations.
American Academy of Pediatrics Family Media Plan: healthychildren.org/English/fmp/Pages/MediaPlan.aspx — Family media planning.
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children: missingkids.org — Online exploitation prevention and reporting.
FBI Safe Streets / Online Safety Resources: fbi.gov — Information about online predators, exploitation, and cybercrime.
StopBullying.gov: stopbullying.gov — Cyberbullying prevention and response.
Federal Trade Commission: consumer.ftc.gov — Privacy, online scams, and consumer protection.
Common Sense Media: commonsensemedia.org — Age-appropriate media reviews and digital parenting resources.
Final Message: Raising Safe and Responsible Digital Citizens
The goal of digital safety is not to eliminate technology from children's lives. It is to teach them how to use technology safely, responsibly, and confidently.
Children benefit most when parents combine appropriate supervision, clear boundaries, ongoing education, and open communication.
A strong relationship between parents and children remains one of the most important protective factors in both the physical and digital worlds.