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The Australian Federal Police (AFP) wants parents and carers to “have the talk” with their children to keep them safe online.
With the school year just about to start, the AFP has released a series of conversation starters for parents and caregivers with children concerning online safety.
While AFP research shows that over half of all parents and carers do talk with their kids about staying safe online, nearly all children are using the internet for some purpose. Eighty-seven per cent of children between four and seven years old are online, and an alarming 16 per cent of those are doing so without supervision.
According to AFP Commander Helen Schneider, parents and carers must have regular online safety conversations with their children.
“We are urging families to ‘have the talk – the online child safety talk’ this year,” Commander Schneider said in a statement.
“We know about 52 per cent of parents and carers talk to their children about online safety, which includes topics like online grooming and inappropriate contact online, but we are aiming to increase this in 2024.
“The AFP is urging everyone to continue the chat throughout their child’s development and stages of life to ensure they are protected every step of the way.”
The AFP advice, put together by AFP’s ThinkUKnow program, addresses three distinct age groups – kids under five years old, ones between five and 12 years old, and children 13 years and older.
“We have developed a range of age-appropriate resources through ThinkUKnow that help parents and carers navigate these conversations with their children, covering a range of online activities from video and image sharing, instant messaging and online gaming, along with using social media in a safe way,” Commander Schneider said.
“ThinkUKnow is about providing Australians with the tools they need and empowering them to keep our community’s most vulnerable – our children – safe online.”
You can learn more about how to keep your children safe online here.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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