Rise in online use over school holidays worries parents for internet safety
Parents can download a digital copy of Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross’ Internet Safety picture books – for free
The summer holidays are here and many parents will be stressing over what activities they can do with their children, that isn’t just sitting on a tablet or phone.
This is also leading to more parents being concerned about online safety and cyberbullying, according to research by Vodaphone.
Majority of parents are worried about how they will keep their children occupied this summer, and half confess their children will spend more time with tech during the holidays compared to term time.
However, parents can download a digital copy of Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross’ Internet Safety picture books – for free.
Parents have to spend a lot of money to keep their kids occupied during the summer break, whether it’s a family day out or a holiday.
Even with all of this money and effort spent, children still gravitate towards tech, so much so that there are many concerns over screen time and how to keep them safe online.
Vodafone has released new research which shows that despite UK families spending up to £1,300 on activities to keep their kids busy this summer, three in ten (31%) parents admit they are worried about how much time their child will spend online over the summer.
This raises further concerns over internet safety and cyber-bullying.
The survey highlights the worries stemming from activity-craving kids as more than half (54%) of parents feel anxious about the school summer holidays due to thinking about how they are going to keep their children occupied.
One in five parents don’t feel they could confidently teach their children about online safety.
Where parental control is concerned, almost six in ten (57%) say they are unaware of how to monitor their children’s online activity and over half (56%) don’t know how to block certain websites from being accessed.
Similarly, one in seven (14%) worry their child doesn’t understand the risks of using the internet, apps and online gaming; and almost 20% are concerned about the risk of online bullying.
Emma Robertson, co-funder of Digital Awareness UK said: “When it comes to making sure our children are using the internet in a way that is safe and responsible, and actually making sure that we are stepping in and we are that voice in the backs of their heads that is saying “Perhaps we shouldn’t do that, or perhaps that might not be safe”, and that is so important.
Roberton explained that it is important to teach our children to be kind, both online and offline.
“We can talk about how that translates in the online world through social media and when we are gaming with each other, and we can show them how that translates in the offline world.
“So I think leading through example and having these bigger picture conversations, which we can relate to the online world are really important.
“There is just this wave of online hate speech which is flooding social media platforms and gaming networks at the moment, there is so much opportunity out there for us to sit down and say “As a family, how do we feel about this? What could we do to stamp some of this stuff out? How should we be behaving?””
Many parents feel children should be taught about online safety from the age of five.
But the study also found many will rely on tech to keep their children busy, as nearly half (49%) admit their youngsters are likely to spend more time online or watching TV than they do during term time.
This comes as Vodafone has announced it will be offering 10,000 free digital copies of author Jeanne Willis (Dr. Xargle) and illustrator Tony Ross’ (Horrid Henry, Little Princess) Internet Safety picture books for children to help parents keep kids occupied over the summer and educate them on online safety.
The three books available explore themes of internet bullying, managing screen time and being mindful of internet predators in fun and engaging stories.