Navigating the Digital World: How Parents and Caregivers Can Help Preschoolers Build Resilience to Online Risks
The preschool years are a crucial period for a child’s social and emotional development. In this digital era, they’re also a time when even young children using digital devices may encounter pornography and other inappropriate content. Despite best efforts to keep children safe from the harms of online pornography, it’s increasingly likely that they will someday see it.
Parents and caregivers face emerging digital safety challenges as young children grow up using phones, televisions, tablets, and other devices. The reality of early online use reinforces the importance of helping children develop healthy digital media skills at a young age. This proactive approach can help build a child’s resilience to pornography before they first encounter it.
A new report from Culture Reframed offers data-driven guidelines on digital safety and age-appropriate conversations for parents and caregivers of young children, especially those ages 4 to 6. The report, Preschool Screen Time & Internet Safety: Helping Young Children Use Digital Devices Safely (and How to Respond If They See Pornography), provides guidance and tools that parents can use if their young children encounter online pornography and other inappropriate content. Parents and caregivers also will find the latest research on screen time and its negative impacts on young children and guidance to help children master bodily boundaries.
Much of this guidance involves the concept of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and related teaching methods that help children develop life skills for learning, forming relationships, and resolving daily challenges. The report notes that preschoolers’ SEL skills — such as using words, following rules, and managing emotions — come into play when parents talk with them about digital screens, body boundaries, and online pornography.
By incorporating SEL and a range of research-driven sources, the report offers general guidance on how parents and caregivers can discuss online safety with young children and how to mitigate the risks of online pornography exposure. It also outlines a model with best practices — such as co-viewing and limits on screen time for all family members — that can help everyone use the internet and technology safely. With this guidance, parents and caregivers can set the groundwork for ongoing, age-appropriate conversations with children about their online lives and nurture stronger relationships and life skills.
Download the report to learn how to help young children stay safe online: Preschool Screen Time & Internet Safety: Helping Young Children Use Digital Devices Safely (and How to Respond If They See Pornography)
