On Friday 9 January, the NSPCC launched a public education campaign, called Share Aware, to help parents keep their children safe online.

The campaign is aimed at parents and carers of children aged 8-12 – the age at which they start doing more online, become more independent and use a greater range of devices.  The campaign aims to encourage parents and carers to understand online safety and to have conversations with their children about keeping safe. 

Having conversations from a young age can help build trust and openness and get preventative messages across.

However, many parents feel confused by the internet and out of their depth in understanding what their children are doing online and what the risks might be. The Share Aware campaign aims to give parents the tools to feel confident to have these conversations. The campaign directs parents to a range of new resources, including Net Aware, a simple NSPCC guide to the social networks, sites and apps children use – as rated by parents and young people themselves.

There is also a downloadable guide and a hard copy booklet for parents, containing top tips for keeping your child safe online, as well conversation starters to help parents have conversations with their children. All these resources will be available on the Share Aware page http://www.nspcc.org.uk/shareaware.