What do you do if your child accidentally stumbles upon unsuitable content online? Father of two young boys and director of technology firm 4D Data Centres (https://www.4d-dc.com/), Jack Bedell-Pearce, has a few tips to share having experienced the pitfalls of YouTube and young viewers first hand.

Follow all the standard steps, such as:
•Create ‘family member child accounts’ for the kids on the Windows PC (https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/17199/windows-10-se...)
•Install and setup Parental Controls with preferred anti-virus provider
•Turn on Google ‘Safe Search’
•Then think again!

Even with these parental controls in place unless your kids are using the YouTube Kids App they can still see unsuitable content even in ‘Restricted Mode’.

Set some online rules for your family and don’t just rely on their school to teach them about Internet safety. Jack Bedell-Pearce and his family have agreed to the following:

•YouTube can only be accessed if there is an adult supervising at all times
•Teach your kids about ‘good content’ versus ‘bad content’ and encourage them to turn off anything they recognise as the latter immediately
•Set your kids up with a dedicated Google / YouTube account and subscribe them to channels that you know are safe. It might take a bit of time but is worth the peace of mind. It also means that you end up with YouTube recommending more of the age appropriate / safe content
•And don’t forget to extend the rules beyond your own home. On play dates ask other parents to follow the first rule or, if that’s not possible, then restrict Internet access on any device the children will have access to (PCs, mobiles and tablets).

While YouTube, Facebook and all the other channels will advise that they take Internet safety seriously the parameters in which they work are always changing. By applying some of these simple rules you can try to help your child enjoy Minecraft and Stampy without the fear of them stumbling upon an 18-rated horror game.

If you'd like to discuss this topic in more detail with Jack, please contact:
nicola@melvillecommunications.co.uk
07581330253