KORERO FROM FRASER

How do you know what your young person is up to on their device? It is a question as parents and caregivers we need to continually come back to and a space where having some good routines and expectations in place is critical.

We are regularly reminded of the dangers and temptations online at the same time as it being such a great resource for both learning and play! As parents and caregivers encouraging conversations about what is appropriate and what isn’t is so important. This is why a punitive approach at home can sometimes be counter-productive. Students can sometimes come across upsetting, inappropriate and sometimes even disturbing content online so having an open line of communication is so important. This is particularly relevant at the moment with the well publicised and disturbing ‘Tik Tok’ clip that was circulated earlier this week. There are many other landscapes to navigate as a parent also in terms of creating, sharing and accessing online content so don’t feel alone if you are not on top of all of them. We can help with further advice if you need it or also visit Netsafe which is a great resource available for free.

Some quick tips:

• There are age restrictions for many social media sites of 13 years old. Understand what the restrictions and access guidelines are and stick to it! Don’t fall for the, ‘but everyone is doing it’ line

• Encourage social media use to happen in a space and at a time where you can casually engage in what is happening. For instance, ‘access social media from 5-6pm in the kitchen while I am making dinner’ could be a good way to promote positive conversations and questions

• Ensure bedrooms are a ‘no device’ zone. Being truly ‘unplugged’ is critical to our wellbeing. Are you role modelling this yourself? We can be bombarded with notifications 24/7 and the need to switch ourselves off is so, so important for us all!