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Online safety

Online safety for little ones

Screens arrive earlier than most of us planned. Here is how to set a calm, workable family agreement — and what to say when something upsetting appears on the screen.

Start with the agreement, not the rules

Children co-operate with plans they helped make. Sit down together, fill in the Family Screen-Time Agreement, and let your child choose one of the swaps. A plan with their handwriting on it survives far longer than one you announce.

Keep the conversation boring and regular

Ask about the screen the same way you ask about lunch — casually, often, without alarm. "What was funny today?" opens more doors than "What were you watching?"

If something upsetting appears

  • Stay curious rather than alarmed: "That sounds strange — can you show me?"
  • Thank them for telling you. That reaction is what you want them to repeat.
  • Deal with the screen afterwards, not in the moment.
  • Report anything that involves a child to the platform and, where appropriate, the authorities.

What we do here

Our own site collects nothing about your child, runs no advertising and uses no third-party trackers. The read-along stories run in your browser — nothing your child taps, reads or listens to is sent to us.

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