Supporting primary school children online | Advice from Dr Linda

Psychologist and Internet Matters Ambassador Dr Linda gives great advice about practical things parents can do to support children online.

Online grooming - what parents need to know

Grooming is when someone seeks to build an emotional connection with a child to gain their trust for a sexual purpose.

Inappropriate content - What parents need to know

Making use of filters on the platforms they used to block out content and having frank conversations to help them make smart choices are just a few things you can do to help.

Cyberbullying advice from Dr Linda Papadopoulos

To help parents understand how they can help their child deal with cyberbullying Dr Linda Papadopoulos give advice on what they can do to support them.

If your child is gaming online, they may be using platforms to allow them to chat and communicate with other players or friends. Use the following safety guides to help keep them safe on the most popular social gaming platforms.

Steam – This is one of the most popular social gaming networks that allows you to buy and play games online and store them in the cloud.

Xbox live – Microsoft’s online service for its consoles is called Xbox Live and when you’re signed into the service you can chat to other Xbox Live members and befriend them.

Twitch TV – Twitch.tv is a live streaming social gaming platform that is equipped with a chat feature to allow players to interact with each other and live stream and watch video game competitions.

Roblox – One of the biggest online gaming platforms and features social elements which allows players to talk to each other and send friend requests.

Minecraft – One of the most popular gaming platforms among primary school age children (despite 13 minimum age guide).

PlayStation Network – Allows users to go online and access PlayStation Store content, online gameplay and use the chat function to talk to other players.

Nintendo Network – Nintendo’s consoles are more family-friendly than most and therefore its chat functionality is a lot more geared to safe interaction for younger players.