Gifting a mobile phone this Christmas? Here's how to stay connected while keeping your child safe

Laura Simpson, Digital Safety Development Officer, has prepared a digital toolkit and is offering advice to help parents and carers stay in control of their children’s internet and communications

Parents thinking of getting a mobile phone for their children this Christmas are being advised to make sure safeguards are in place ahead of time by using a free digital toolkit.

Police in Guernsey say more children are owning a phone before they reach the age of 10 - which can open the door to issues like cyberbullying and unwanted communication from strangers.

Laura Simpson, Digital Safety Development Officer, says: "A lot of families feel that they want to be able to contact their children at any time to keep an eye on their safety - which seems to make very good sense.

"But unfortunately, with that level of connectivity comes an awful lot of potential harms and challenges that families might not be quite aware of, or ready to deal with, with children age ten and younger."

Advice has been sent to all schools in Guernsey for pupils in Years 4 to 8. It aims to give families confidence in managing devices through parental controls, a better understanding of some of the potential safety issues for children and answer questions on social media.

Laura added: "Many of the parents I have spoken to are feeling that they have little choice in the way they allow their child to use the internet.

"The peer pressure on parents to agree to social media usage, gaming, or even owning a phone is immense, and often parents don’t feel ready or skilled enough to parent their children digitally.

"I hope this new resource will go a little way  to helping parents make informed decisions around their children’s online safety and empower families to make the most of all the internet has to offer in a safe and secure way.”

Top tips when giving a child a phone:

• 1. Have the phone completely set up before gifting it to your child. This gives you time to make important decisions around which parental controls you want to use, which apps you want your child to use and how you will monitor what your child can access before you hand it over on Christmas morning.

• 2. Decide as a family when and where phones can be used. There are risks attached to internet-accessible devices being used privately in spaces such as bedrooms and bathrooms.

• 3. Children under 13 should not be using social media. Check the age restrictions on any platforms your child asks to sign up to, and fully read the terms and conditions.

• 4. Large group chats on apps such as WhatsApp make it easier for strangers to contact children, and for harmful content to be shared.

• 5. Make sure your family knows what to do if they see something online which upsets them.

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