Netsafe have gathered together some very relevant information to support families and whānau with content specific to online safety. We look forward to sharing these with you in school newsletters over coming months.

The internet has changed the way we work, rest and play. It’s important families and whānau feel confident providing support and guidance.

Top Tips - Screen Time

Here are Netsafe’s top tips for parents wanting to manage how much time their children spend online:

Understand what they’re doing: 

Not all time spent online is created equal. Talk to your children about what they are using digital technology for so you have a better understanding of how they are spending their time.

Help them to self-manage screentime: 

Children need to start managing how long they spend online themselves and so talk to them about how they are using the online space and things they can do to find a balance between being online and offline.

Set boundaries: 

Talk about expectations and set clear boundaries, just like all parents do with bedtimes and chores. Set limits together and think about how you can model those screentime expectations. You can also look into using parental controls or scheduling or restricting access via the router.

Technological solutions: 

Internet content filtering tools are important tools and play a role in online safety and often include features or settings which allow time online to be limited. Many platforms also offer options which include time online trackers which help children understand how much time they are spending online and what activities they spend the most time engaging in.

Look out for changes: 

If your child’s technology use is affecting their ability to take part in normal activities (such as sleeping, engaging offline or participating in other hobbies) or has changed their behaviour then it’s important to discuss and put in place supports for managing time. This could include restricting where they can use their device, for example not allowing it in their bedroom at night which can prevent sleep.

For more information on screen time visit netsafe.org.nz/screen-time/