‘Safer Kids’ campaign launched across North Wales for summer
A new ‘Safer Kids’ campaign has been launched across North Wales this month to encourage children to use the internet safely, securely and confidently during the summer holidays.
The campaign is a collaboration between Get Safe Online, North Wales Police, and the office of Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Andy Dunbobbin.
Get Safe Online is a service commissioned by the PCC’s office and North Wales Police to provide advice and information to local residents.
Tony Neate, CEO of Get Safe Online, said, “The internet has so many benefits and for our children to have the opportunity to use it to support their studies, interact with their friends and even to shop, has become second nature.”
“However, as with so many other things they do, it’s really important that they do so safely. Our campaign this month focuses on key advice to help kids enjoy a safe and happy experience on the internet.”
Police and Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin added, “Supporting victims and communities across North Wales is a priority in my plan to reduce crime in North Wales and our children and young people lie at the heart of a safe society. They are what we hold most precious.”
“As we head into the summer holidays, it is therefore vital we do all we can to ensure our children and young people stay safe online.”
“As parents and guardians, summer can be a difficult time juggling childcare with work, looking after the home and seeing to other family members.”
“This means children can be sometimes less supervised than when at school and that’s why advice like that from Get Safe Online is so important at this time.”
PC Dewi Owen from North Wales Police’s Cyber Crime team said, “For many children and youngsters spending time online is a very important part of their lives.”
“It’s an opportunity to socialise, have fun and relax and to be creative and learn about new things.”
“However, spending time online can also expose youngsters to bullying, inappropriate content or comments, or risks associated with stranger contact.”
“The 10- to 15-year-olds’ Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) showed that 92.6% of children went online daily with 58.1% spending three or more hours a day online on an ordinary school day.”
“The most common activities children used the internet for were watching videos online (80.0%), messaging (77.6%) and playing online games (75.3%).”
“Worryingly more than a third (35.0%) of children said that they had accepted a friend request from someone they did not know, around one in five children said they’d spoken to someone online who they had never met in person before, 8.5% shared their location publicly and 7.6% sent a photo or video of themselves to someone they had never met.”
“We therefore encourage parents to show an interest in their children’s online activities and to have open conversations with them to find out more about which apps they use and which websites they visit and what sorts of things they do on there.”
“Parents could even ask youngsters to teach them about the apps that they use and websites that they visit.”
“It’s also very important that youngsters understand that not everyone online is who they say they are.”
“Parents should consider setting up parental controls to mitigate some of the risks and make sure that youngsters have a list of trusted adults that they can speak to if something worries or upsets them when online.”
“It’s also important to help youngsters to understand the benefits of taking regular breaks away from the screen and it’s worth considering setting healthy screen time limits.”
Get Safe Online’s advice includes:
- Start the conversation early and keep it going about risks like oversharing, cyberbullying, inappropriate content, and strangers.
- Encourage use of child-friendly apps like YouTube Kids.
- Keep up with digital trends and apps your child uses.
- Help children understand the emotional impact of online experiences.
- Respect age restrictions and set clear rules from the start.
- Use parental controls on devices, browsers and apps.
- Allow video calls only with trusted contacts.
- Discuss the pros and cons of online gaming.
- Teach critical thinking to spot misinformation and fake news.
- Remind children to think before sharing personal details or images.
- Download apps only from official stores like Google Play or the App Store.
- Observe children’s online behaviour without being overbearing.
More advice is available at www.getsafeonline.org/safehappykidsonline.
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