NSPCC has urged parents to put online safety on top of their festive things to do

The NSPCC and O2 have urged parents to make online safety a priority if their children have received smartphones, tablets or game consoles this Christmas.

The advice comes as a survey of 442 parents of 5-10-year-olds found that 46% don’t have parental controls set up on internet-enabled devices used by their children and only 30% have them installed through their home broadband.

Overall just 29% said they were confident that the online parental controls they had in place for their children were sufficient.

The NSPCC and O2 joined forces in 2015 with the aim of helping parents keep their children safe online.

The partnership now offers advice to parents through Net Aware (www.net-aware.org.uk), the Icebreaker email series and the Online Safety Helpline.

Parents can also book an appointment with an O2 Guru in their local O2 store to get advice on keeping children safe online or setting up parental controls.

Tony Stower, Head of Child Safety Online at the NSPCC said:

“The online world can be full of fun and wonder for children and no doubt tablets, smartphones and games consoles will have featured on many Christmas lists this year. But the internet is not without its risks for children who can stumble across inappropriate content or even become victims of online abuse.

“That’s why it’s vital that every parent who has bought an internet-connected device this Christmas sets up parental controls to help protect their children from online risks. It’s also a good idea for parents to have regular conversations with their children about staying safe online and how to report something that upsets them.”

Stephanie McNamee, O2 NSPCC Helpline Agent said:

“With many children getting their hands on new tech over the festive period it’s a great time to set up some parental controls. Parents can use controls to block upsetting or harmful content, manage in-app purchases or how long children spend online.

“It may feel daunting but parents don’t need to be technical experts as controls are easy to set up and help is available to get started. If you’re not sure where to start, experts from the O2 NSPCC helpline can help.”