Wearable tech is increasingly big business. More than 170 million smartwatches were sold globally in 2022, for example, with Apple biting off the largest chunk of the market (26% - some distance ahead of Samsung, in second with 9%). That's partly because they have more than 21,000 apps available for their devices, allowing users to customise their smartwatch experience.

Both Apple and Samsung’s products, of course, lean towards the higher spec end of the market – usually with price tags to match. Sourcing a less expensive alternative, however, often also means inferior safety features to protect young wearers. In the guide you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as location tracking, causing distractions at school and the danger of theft.

When Apple unveiled the iPad in early 2010, they almost single-handedly rewrote people’s idea of what of a portable computing device was capable of – and sparked a tablet revolution. Their immense popularity, of course, has made the iPad a familiar companion for children and young people: an auxiliary TV; an aid for schoolwork; and a blessing on long car journeys. That said, there are still some aspects of Apple’s flagship tablet that parents and carers should bear in mind to help protect their child from online risks.

This guide highlights possible hazards including the risk of age-inappropriate content, physical damage to the device and potential screen addiction

Gaming, of course, is phenomenally popular with children and young people. In 2021, for instance, more than three-quarters of teenagers played online games, with almost 70% of primary school aged children doing likewise. If enjoyed in moderation and supported by a healthy routine (staying hydrated, good sleep habits, taking breaks and so on), gaming can actually benefit a person’s mental health. As long as we stay alert for potential risks, games can be much more than what we see on the surface: they can be a way to socialise, an avenue for creativity and a route to solving problems. Our top ten tips outline how gaming online can sometimes work to your child’s advantage.

In the guide you'll find a number of potential benefits including a sense of achievement, learning about teamwork and encouraging creativity.

Whether you’re an internet newbie or a pro at surfing the web, it’s always important to keep online safety in mind. We’ve pulled together a list of top tips to make it easier for you to protect yourself and your devices in the digital world - helping you steer clear of hazards like misleading information and vicious viruses. There’s never a bad time to refresh your internet safety knowledge, but it’s an especially smart thing to do before you start using any shiny new devices!

In the guide, you'll find tips such as double-checking your news sources, taking breaks from being online and not sharing personal information.

An estimated one-third of children have a social media account, so it’s important that trusted adults know what content young people are consuming, what they’re posting and the interactions they’re having. On social media, it can be easy to go down a rabbit hole that isn’t beneficial to our wellbeing. As platforms grapple with managing ‘legal but harmful’ content, lives are being impacted – sometimes to tragic effect.

We might be daunted by the scale of the tech giants and their content which enthrals young people, but we can still help children to be mindful of their mental wellness: recognising when something isn’t OK … and knowing what to do about content that upsets them. In the guide, you'll find tips such as how to hide content, setting daily limits and discussing what children have seen online.

Defined as “ongoing hurtful behaviour towards someone online”, cyber-bullying makes its victims feel upset, uncomfortable and unsafe. In the digital world, it has numerous forms – such as hurtful comments on a person’s posts or profile; deliberately leaving them out of group chats; sharing embarrassing images or videos of someone; or spreading gossip about them. Cyber-bullying can severely impact a young person’s mental health … so, in support of Anti-Bullying Week, we’ve provided a list of tips to help trusted adults know what to look for and how to respond to it. In the guide, you'll find tips such as playing online games with your child, talking about your child’s online life and being prepared to listen without showing any judgement or criticism.

Whatever your children enjoy online, this safety guide has some top tips to help them do it safely! In the guide, you'll find tips such as thinking before posting, reporting upsetting content and avoiding screens late at night.

Discord is a free app which allows users to communicate in real time via text, video or voice chat. Available on desktop and mobile devices, it was originally designed to help gamers cooperate – but has evolved into a more general networking platform for a range of online communities, discussing topics like TV series, music, Web3 and more. Discord is organised around closed groups, referred to as ‘servers’. To join a server, users must be invited or provided with a unique link. It’s a space for users to interact with friends, meet others with shared interests and collaborate in private online — but it’s also a place where young people can be exposed to risks if the right precautions aren’t taken.

What Parents Need to Know about YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids is a child-friendly version of YouTube, offering a colourful and easy-to-navigate environment which is suitable for young children. The app is easily accessible and can be downloaded for phones and tablets without needing the YouTube app to be on the device already. Although YouTube Kids is obviously intended to be (and mainly succeeds in being) an extremely child-friendly platform, it has still raised concerns over its advertising policy as well as inappropriate content seeping through the curation process.

Supporting Children to Deal with Upsetting Content

Raising children in the digital age seems to be getting tougher, with the world currently experiencing so many uncertainties. From the continuing impact of COVID-19 to the war in Ukraine, right now children across the globe can scarcely go online without being exposed to unsettling stories, images and ideas. Reassuring a concerned child can be difficult, especially when bad news feels omnipresent. In the guide, you'll find tips on a number of tips such as encouraging your child to ask questions, setting limits and to emphasis hope.

What Parents Need to Know about WhatsApp

WhatsApp is the world’s most popular messaging service, with around two billion users exchanging texts, photos, videos and documents, as well as making voice and video calls. Its end-to-end encryption means messages can only be viewed by the sender and any recipients: not even WhatsApp can read them. Updates to its privacy policy in 2021 (involving sharing data with parent company Facebook) caused millions to leave the app, but the new policy was widely misinterpreted – it only related to WhatsApp’s business features, not to personal messages. In the guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as scams, strangers and location sharing.

10 Ways You Can Share Kindness Online

Last year, around one in five children aged 10–15 in England and Wales admitted experiencing online bullying: most commonly being insulted or sworn at, or having hurtful messages sent about them. To a child who’s being bullied, the world can seem like a bleak, negative place – but just one kind word can be a ray of hope: a turning point that brightens someone’s day and resets their perspective. That’s why ‘One Kind Word’ was the theme of Anti-Bullying Week 2021. In the guide below, you'll find tips such as reaching out, thinking before commenting and recommending fun things.

What Parents Need to Know About Fortnite

First released in 2017, Fortnite has become one of the most popular games in the world. It currently has around 350 million registered players. Developed by Epic Games, it began life exclusively as a ‘battle royale’ contest, where up to 100 online player characters would fight – with weaponry including rifles, handguns and rocket launchers – to be the last one standing. Today, it features multiple modes which each offer something different (although some modes, such as ‘Save the World’, are only available on certain platforms). In the guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as scams, in-app purchases and user- controlled content.

YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing social media platform that allows billions of people around the world to watch, share and upload their own videos with a vast range of content – including sport, entertainment, education and lots more. It’s a superb space for people to consume content that they’re interested in. As a result, this astronomically popular platform has had a huge social impact: influencing online culture on a global scale and creating new celebrities. In the guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as connecting with strangers, inappropriate content and high visibility.