Child Safeguarding Week 2024 – Keeping Kids Safe Online

As Online Child Safeguarding Week kicks off, it’s the perfect moment to focus on how we can keep our young gymnasts safe in the digital world. From practice videos to social media, there’s a lot to navigate. Here at Olympia we are big believers in supporting Child Safeguarding Week, which aims to educate and provide resources to protect our children online. For parents, children and organisations like Olympia to all participate in keeping our tamariki safe online.

"Digital devices and the internet are firmly ingrained in modern day life. While spending time on devices and the internet opens up exciting opportunities for connection and creativity, it also raises the risk of potential harm. Staying proactive and mindful of how children engage online is key to enjoying the benefits it has to offer while minimising risk."

"Young people can be exposed to harmful content online, even if they haven’t sought it out. While they may display observable behaviour and emotional changes when something is amiss, sometimes they don’t."

"What you can do

The phrase “do it with them, not to them” is the perfect way to sum up how parents and caregivers need to approach online safety and digital wellbeing. The key to implementing proactive and effective solutions is working alongside your child.  Nothing will alienate them more than implementing rules and expectations without involving them in the process.  Making sure your child feels involved and heard is the most important factor in achieving workable, realistic solutions leading to improved online outcomes.

Use the SHIELD tips below to start you and your child’s safe digital journey.

Supervise

Ensure you have visibility over your child’s online activities and foster an active, engaged role in their digital journey.  Consider using tech solutions such as filters and visibility software installed at an IP or device level. Equally, this could also be achieved by being online together or having regular conversations about online experiences.

The most important thing for families who use tech solutions is to not use increased visibility to police activities, but rather to inform proactive, constructive conversations.

Help

Work in partnership with your child to make sure they understand their rights and responsibilities online, along with potential risks they could encounter and what they need to do if things don’t go as planned.  This could take the form of a response plan which includes what immediate steps they can take to ensure their safety and who they feel comfortable going to for non-judgemental support (Hint: this might not be you!).

Instil values

Working with your child, identify your family values and unpack what they could look like online.  Remember that the values you grew up with might look very different from your child’s perspective, especially in relation to how they connect and socialise using online spaces and platforms.

Establish boundries and expectations

Discuss age-specific guidelines for the safe and appropriate use of technology and behavioural expectations. Understand how, when and why your child uses their device and work together to develop a family approach to boundary setting.  Including your child in this process ensures they feel valued and heard, and far more likely to utilise safe online behaviours.

Listen 

Actively listen to your child’s online experiences, concerns and questions. Create a non-judgemental environment where they feel comfortable sharing and update family guidelines based on their needs and the constantly evolving online landscape.  If your child fears you may overreact (for example removing their access to the technology), they will avoid coming to you when things go wrong, often leading to negative outcomes for their safety and wellbeing.

Develop skills

Before you can empower your child to make safe and informed choices online, you need to have a sound knowledge of your child’s activities online and feel confident in your ability to support them.  If you feel a bit shaky in terms of your knowledge, check out our blogs and resources including conversation starters."

For more vaulable resources about Child Safeguarding see here

To view the full BEHAVIOUR CHANGES: A guide for caregivers document quoted above see here

To read more about protecting your child online click here (partially quoted above)