eSafety Early Years Parent Resources
About this resource
These articles, activities, and videos explore how parents and carers can support young children to have safe and enjoyable experiences online.
Age range for this resource
For parents and carers of children aged 12 months to 5 years.
Goal of this resource
To foster young children’s sense of wellbeing and online safety.
To provide young children with strategies, habits, and behaviours for maintaining their own safety when using online environments.
How might educators use this resource?
Utilise these articles, activities, and videos to support the provision of online safety programs at your service.
How might families use this resource?
Explore these articles, activities, and videos to help you learn how to talk to your child about online safety as soon as they start using digital devices and encourage your child to ask for help when they are online. Find out how to choose good online content so your child can get the most out of using screen-based devices. Download and read the Online safety booklet for under 5s and use the Family tech agreement for under 5s to write a set of rules together with your child.
How might organisations use this resource?
Provide a link to these articles, activities, and videos in your regular communication to families and carers. Highlight how learning about online safety is a requirement of Belonging, Being, and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia V2.0 (Australian Government Department of Education, 2022). Prepare a short statement for sharing such as: ‘As a parent or carer, you can help to keep your child safe and ensure they get the most out of being online.’
What learning might we see?
Families and children talking about online safety as soon as young children start using digital devices.
Parents and carers understanding how to support young children to have safe and enjoyable experiences online.
Young children developing an awareness of online safety strategies and behaviours.
Practices
Supervising
Children use internet-connected technologies with filters and passwords applied and always with active adult supervision.
Area
Citizenship
Citizenship in digital contexts recognises that young children are active participants in their communities now and into the future. As citizens, young children respect their own rights and those of other people, and develop an appreciation for cultural, racial, gender, and religious diversity. Digital rights, digital privacy, online safety, and cyber-safety education provide a foundation for early citizenship in digital contexts.
Connection to relevant standards
Belonging, Being, and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia V2.0 (Australian Government Department of Education, 2022)
Outcome 1: Children have a strong sense of identity
Children feel safe, secure, and supported (e.g., Children establish and maintain respectful, trusting relationships with other children and educators).
Children develop their emerging autonomy, inter-dependence, resilience, and agency (e.g., Educators provide children with strategies to make informed choices about their actions, interactions, and behaviours).
Children develop knowledgeable, confident self-identities and a positive sense of self-worth (e.g., Educators support children to identify and assess risks in play and learning and to cope with the unexpected).
Children learn to interact in relation to others with care, empathy, and respect (e.g., Children recognise safe and unsafe situations; Children identify trusted adults and friends; Educators support children to learn about and recognise safe and unsafe situations).
Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world
Children develop a sense of connectedness to groups and communities and an understanding of their reciprocal rights and responsibilities as active and informed citizens (e.g., Educators provide opportunities for children to investigate ideas, complex concepts, and ethical issues that are relevant to their lives and their local communities).
Outcome 3: Children have a strong sense of wellbeing
Children become strong in their social, emotional, and mental wellbeing (e.g., Educators discuss and model appropriate use of digital technologies and discuss how to keep children safe online with children and families; Educators update their own learning of digital and cyber safety for children).
Children are aware of and develop strategies to support their own mental and physical health and personal safety (e.g., Educators learn about e-safety for children and embed and model safe digital practices).
Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners
Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies, and natural and processed materials (e.g., Educators select and introduce appropriate tools, technologies, and media and provide the skills, knowledge, and techniques to enhance children’s learning; Educators develop their skills and knowledge with digital technologies and media in their curriculum to use them confidently with children).
Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators
Children engage with a range of texts and gain meaning from these texts (e.g., Children view and listen to printed, visual, and multimedia texts and respond with relevant gestures, actions, comments, and/or questions).
Children express ideas and make meaning using a range of media (e.g., Children view, listen and respond to simple printed, visual, and multimedia texts or music and express how it makes them feel).
Children use digital technologies and media to access information, investigate ideas, and represent their thinking (e.g., Educators teach children critical reflection skills and encourage them to evaluate the quality and trustworthiness of information sources; Educators have opportunities to develop their own knowledge and understanding of appropriate digital technology use and safety with children and families).
National Quality Standard (Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority, 2019)
Quality Area 1: Educational program and practice (e.g., Educators are deliberate, purposeful, and thoughtful in their decisions and actions; Each child’s agency is promoted, enabling them to make choices and decisions that influence events and their world).
Quality Area 2: Children’s health and safety (e.g., Each child’s wellbeing and comfort is provided for, including appropriate opportunities to meet each child’s need for sleep, rest, and relaxation; At all times, reasonable precautions and adequate supervision ensure children are protected from harm and hazard).
Quality Area 5: Relationships with children (e.g., Responsive and meaningful interactions build trusting relationships which engage and support each child to feel secure, confident, and included; The dignity and rights of every child are maintained).
Quality Area 6: Collaborative partnerships with families and communities (e.g., Current information is available to families about the service and relevant community services and resources to support parenting and family wellbeing).
National Principles for Child Safe Organisations (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2018)
Principle 1: Child safety and wellbeing is embedded in organisational leadership, governance, and culture.
Principle 2: Children and young people are informed about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them, and are taken seriously.
Principle 3: Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing.
Principle 5: People working with children and young people are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice.
Principle 7: Staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and awareness to keep children and young people safe through ongoing education and training.
Principle 8: Physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for children and young people to be harmed.
Explore More
If these ideas are new to you, explore these related resources:
Swoosh, Glide, and Rule Number 5
This picture book helps educators, parents, and carers to discuss online safety behaviours with children.
This website helps parents, carers, and educators teach young children how to stay safe online.
For more ideas, explore these related resources:
Storytelling for a connected childhood
This article invites parents, carers, and educators to use stories to engage children and build their understanding about online safety.
eSafety Early Years Program for Educators
These articles and videos provide information, activities, and advice to families and early childhood educators about young children using technology and online safety.
If you would like to read some research, explore these related resources:
Domoff, S. E., Radesky, J. S., Harrison, K., Riley, H., Lumeng, J. C., & Miller, A. L. (2019). A naturalistic study of child and family screen media and mobile device use. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28(2), 401–410. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31105418/
Marsh, J., Plowman, L., Yamada-Rice, D., Bishop, J., & Scott, F. (2020). Digital play: A new classification. In C. Stephen, L. Brooker, P. Oberhuemer, & R. Parker-Rees (Eds.). Digital play and technologies in the early years (pp. 20–31). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429444418