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Resources for Parents

Links to organisations providing advice, resources, research, information about regulation and how to complain...

Advertising

Mediasmart is the body promoting the Digital Adwise campaign offering parents information on online advertising.

Apps

The Good App Guide - provides independent reviews of children's apps.

BBC Own It - designed to help young people manage their lives online. Encourages children to think before posting, recognises if a child types personal details, and can identify language that might suggest a child is in trouble.

Film Ratings

British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) Their website is a mine of useful information on how film ratings are decided, and what they mean. They also have a child and family friendly website CBBFC

Games

PEGI's webiste answers questions parents and players have about video game age ratings and provide advice on how to play games responsibly.

Online safety and social media

Childnet - provides a range of resources for teachers, parents and children - all available on the Childnet Resource page. Their guide leaflet on young people and social networking services is particularly useful.

Cyberbullying - an Overview for Students, Parents and Teachers is a comprehensive listing from Maryville University (USA) of the forms cyberbullying takes and carries guidance on how to deal with it, or help young people deal with it. The legal references are U.S. based. But the advice is full and useful.

ESafety Guide is a comprehensive collection of useful tips for parents and children about online safety. It is provided by Consumers Base, which is funded by revenue form commissions on sales of products reviewed on the site through an Amazon affiliates programme. The ESafety part of the site offers advice on grooming, oversharing, exposure to inappropriate material, gaming and social media issues, cyberbullying and more.

A Guide to Keeping Children Safe Online - offered as "A Good Read For Non-Techy Parents", is part of the Gifted Geek website which is funded by commissions on sales of reviewed products. The site carries a comprehensive UK-based guide to current issues in kids' use of the internet and the hazards they might face there, with tips for keeping in touch with what they are doing and opening avenues of conversation to help mitigate the dangers.

Parentinfo is expert information to help children and young people stay safe online, for schools to host on their own websites.

The Parents' Guide to Online Shopping Safety is a very full explanation of the various hazards a child or teen might face in purchasing online, and has tips for how to be aware and minimise exposure to fraud, overpayment etc. This is provided by commercial shopping site Wikibuy.

The UK Safer Internet Centre provides advice, a helpline and hotline on internet safety for children and adults. It is a partnership of three leading organisations: SWGfL, Childnet International and Internet Watch Foundation with a mission to promote the safe and responsible use of technology for young people.

Thinkuknow is an education programme from the National Crime Agency’s CEOP Command that offers advice about sexual abuse and sexual exploitation to children of all ages and professionals who deal with them.

Jessie and Friends is a series of three animations for ThnkUKnow that aim to give 4-7 year olds knowledge, skills and confidence to help them respond safely to risks they may encounter online.

Seven ways to protect your child’s privacy online
Tips from the Director of the Oxford Internet Institute. Or watch the one minute video.

Regulation and Research

British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) Their website is a mine of useful information on how film ratings are decided, and what they mean. They also have a child and family friendly website CBBFC

Ofcom is a good source of current research on children and their media usage, media literacy and parental attitudes.

Research for Parents - CMF's accessible answers for many parental concerns round their children's media use, based on the best available academic research.

Screen Time

The AAP Media Plan offers a resource to help parents create a "media plan" for their families so that children of all ages can adhere to the screen times recommended by the American Academy of Paediatrics.

Toys

The Team at Good Toy Guide is committed to promoting play and celebrating good toys.