NSPCC – Understanding Parental Controls

The NSPCC hear from parents and carers all the time just how challenging it can be to stay up to date with different features and the risks posed to their child online. Today, social media sites, apps and games often have multiple features and functions that allow people to share and communicate online in lots of different ways.

Some of these features can introduce a range of new challenges for children and young people and put them at an increased risk of experiencing harm online.

Research recently published by the UK Safer Internet Centre* highlighted that 78 per cent of 8-17-year-olds have received a friend request from someone they don’t know, and 68 per cent have experienced offensive or mean comments from other players.

Setting up parental controls and individual safety settings on your child’s favourite app or game, is one of the ways you can help to keep them safe and stop unwanted contact from people they don’t know.

Want to know where to start? Here’s a guide to the different ways that you can set up parental controls to help keep your child safe online.