Published July 1, 2025
The internet can be a wonderful thing—it’s a never-ending source of education, entertainment, and connection with others. But as amazing as the internet is, the fact that it’s so widespread can also make it difficult for kids to use the internet and platforms like social media safely. That’s why we’re sharing some of our top tips on how to help keep kids of all ages safe online!
First, it’s important to understand why kids may need extra help navigating the online world. Think about the things you might struggle with online: trying to figure out what information is real or not, avoiding scams, trying to stop doomscrolling on social media—the list goes on. Now imagine trying to deal with those things when the self-control region of your brain isn’t fully formed yet, and it’s easier to see how your kids might need some help creating a healthy relationship with the internet.
Make a Family Online Safety Plan With Your Kids
One of the first steps you can take with your kids is to make a family online safety plan. Talk with your kids and teens about what it means to be online and on social media, as well as the positives and the negatives that come with using the internet.
Establishing boundaries, like when, where, and how often your kids can be online as well as discussing the types of sites and profiles they can and can’t visit will help keep everyone on the same page. You can even download a Family Online Safety Agreement or an Internet Safety Checklist and fill it out together. After you’ve completed the form, put it up somewhere in your home where everyone can see it so it’s a helpful reminder of the agreement you all made.
Take Advantage of Parental Limitations & Controls
Another easy step to take is to set parental controls on your kids’ devices and apps. Creating time limits is a great baseline to make sure your kids aren’t spending too much time online. This is especially helpful for teens using social media apps, which are designed to be addictive.
To help you manage devices like computers, tablets, and TVs in addition to your kids’ phones, Google and Apple both have family controls that make it easy for parents to manage apps, screen time, and content across all the devices in your home.
For social media, each app has different parental controls for a variety of settings on your kid’s account, like what content they’re seeing, who’s interacting with their profiles, and more. Most apps also let parents connect their accounts with their teen’s in some way—Instagram and Facebook offer “supervised” and “teen” accounts, respectively, Snapchat lets you create a “Family Center,” and TikTok has a “Family Pairing” feature. Find more information about each of these controls and how to set them up here.
Make Learning Smart Online Behaviors Fun
One of the most important conversations you can have with your kid and teen about online safety is going over the “Dos” and “Don’ts” of using the internet and social media. That list includes things like:
- Create a strong password.
- Don’t share personal information (when creating usernames and when chatting with people online).
- Don’t share passwords or login information with anyone other than your parents.
- Remember that people aren’t always who they say they are online.
- Don’t accept friend requests from strangers.
- Don’t message/chat with strangers.
- Report inappropriate content or comments and block inappropriate accounts.
- Double-check websites for credibility.
- Use secure websites (these start with “https://” instead of “http://”).
- Look out for spam/phishing attempts.
- Think before posting (would you say this in real life?).
- Be kind online.
There are a lot of fun ways to help teach your kids these “Dos” and “Don’ts”: Google’s Be Internet Awesome program prepares kids to safely and confidently explore online through fun, interactive games like Interland, an online game that teaches kids about digital safety, and the Be Internet Awesome World on Roblox.
Teens on social media can also check out the web games Bad News, which teaches them when social media posts are being manipulative, and Spot the Troll, which gives them tips on spotting fake accounts spreading misinformation. Both games were created by psychological scientists to help teens know what’s real online.
Talk With Your Kids Regularly About Their Internet & Social Media Usage
To help your kid feel safe coming to you with any questions or concerns about their internet and social media usage, talk with them regularly about their experiences. Check in with them about some of the positives and negatives that they’ve experienced recently, as well as whether they feel like they’re spending too much time online and ways to help them get more time offline. You can also share your own experience of being online. What have been some of the positives and negatives for you? How are you balancing your own time on the internet and social media?
You can also ask your kids to share specific posts or situations to talk through together, or ask them about hypothetical situations (e.g., What would you do if you saw someone left a mean comment on your post? or What would you do if you saw a post that said it was a “fact” but it feels like it might not be true?) and talk through potential solutions. Check in with them weekly or biweekly to see how things are going.
Model Healthy Usage
In addition to sharing with your kids your experiences about being online, you can also help them by demonstrating what a healthy relationship with the internet and social media looks like. Avoid using either at mealtimes or during family time and set limits on your own social media usage to reinforce to your kids when it’s appropriate to be online and how to prioritize in-person experiences.
Watch for Problematic Usage
The world is designed to make it easy to be online 24/7, so keep an eye out for signs that your kid has developed an unhealthy relationship with the internet or social media, like:
- They’re having a hard time completing their daily routines and commitments (like school, extracurriculars, homework, friendships).
- They choose time online over time in-person with friends or family.
- They’re not getting 8 hours of sleep because of the internet/social media.
- They’re not getting enough movement/physical activity.
- They want to stop using it but continue to use it.
- They have strong cravings to check the internet/social media.
- They lie or use deceptive behaviors to use the internet/social media.
To help them find a better balance, you can set new limitations on the internet and social media together and see how those work. Working with a mental health professional can also be a great resource if you’re having a hard time finding a balance or if you feel that your kid may be dealing with psychological harm from being online.
Remember, You’ve Got Backup
The internet is constantly changing and it can feel overwhelming to try and make sure your kids are safe online. The good news is that you’re not alone in figuring this out! Remember that the internet can connect you to lots of amazing resources that are specifically geared towards helping parents and kids create positive internet behaviors: the American Psychological Association, Nemours KidsHealth, and Google’s Be Internet Awesome being a few of them.
Another great resource is the other parents in your community—who else would better understand what you’re going through! The next time your kids and their friends meet up, chat with their parents and see what they’re doing to help create healthy internet relationships with their kids.
And remember that while navigating the wide world of the internet may be a bumpy journey at times, you and your kids are in it together!