Parenting in the online age

The internet and other forms of technology are wonderful and exciting learning and socialising tools for our children. However, when used inappropriately they can cause great harm and distress.

Communicating with your child

Tweens and teens can be difficult to communicate with at the best of times. An increasing desire for independence and complex feelings and emotions can make it hard for young people to feel comfortable expressing themselves and asking for help.

Legal facts about ‘sexting’

Definitions of sexting vary but there is a general consensus that it involves ‘sexually explicit content communicated via text messages, smartphones, or visual and web 2.0 activities such as social networking sites’ (Ringrose et al. 2012, p. 9).

Family Agreements - The why and how

Having an effective family agreement is about building a positive relationship with your child. It ensures that technology can be enjoyed in a safe and mutually acceptable manner.

• Making agreements work for split families
• Ideas for family agreements
• Blank family agreement

Technology topics for discussion

Top tips for technology - getting the basics fast

Here are our Top Tips for helping your children avoid potentially negative consequences from being online.

How to support your child if they are affected by inappropriate image/video sharing

• Talk with your child
• Contact your child’s school
• Minimise further distribution of the content
• …

Tips from other parents

• No electronic devices until ready for school
• Time limit on device use; Using a timer helps ☺  timer on to take turns
• Have a box to put mobile phones, x-box controllers, iPads etc in after school – my son has to do his homework, chores, etc. to earn their use. This is a better alternative to taking devices as a punishment
• No devices at dining table during meal times
• …

Developmental Progression of Use of Internet and Social Networking Sites

Australia has some of the highest social media usage in the world, with the use of social media increasing significantly with age among young Australians.

Developing Personal Knowledge and Skills

Whether you are an avid user of digital technologies, a novice or have never engaged with the online world before, it is important to understand digital citizenship and the issues surrounding technology use.