TikTok is a fun app however it can at times cause harm. At school, this app is blocked. We encourage you at home to discuss the safe use of this app - especially the turning off comments if lifestreaming.
Netsafe has developed a seven step Online Safety Parent Toolkit to give every parent access to the support they need to teach their kids how to access digital opportunities and reduce harm. It helps overcome any perceived or real technology knowledge gap between what parents know and what their child knows – or thinks they know.
The seven step framework helps parents to:
- Understand potential risks, challenges, and sometimes illegal behaviours
- Learn about their tamariki’s (children's) activities
- Explore for themselves the technology their child uses
- Agree and set expectations as a family on what to do online
- Teach basic online safety concepts
- Model the behaviors they want to see their child use
- Plan what to do if things go wrong
TikTok Family Safety Toolkit Tips!
- Keep the lines of communication with your teen as open as possible and have ongoing conversations about their digital lives.
- Try downloading the app, explore it on your own, and make a video with your teen!
- Understanding how the app works and experiencing it first-hand are a great start to creating common topics between you and your teen.
- Creating and collaborating with your teen will help you understand what they love about the app and open the door to productive conversation about what it means to use TikTok safely.
- Stay open to what they have to say. Remember that communication is a two-way street. Parents can learn from their teens who are often digitally savvier than they are about how to use the apps. In return, parents can show empathy and support for their teen’s digital life.