Help children use their first mobile phone with clearer boundaries, safer choices and confidence to ask an adult for support. This one-page online safety poster gives parents, carers and professionals a straightforward way to talk through privacy, messages, group chats, strangers, upsetting content and reporting concerns before a child starts using apps independently.
At home, before handing over a child’s first smartphone, this online safety checklist can guide a calm, practical conversation about the situations they may encounter. It is particularly suited to parents and carers of children approaching independent phone use, as well as family support workers and school staff preparing children for messaging apps, social media and group chats.
The poster sets out eight phone safety skills in clear child-friendly language. Children are reminded to keep their address, school, passwords and live location private; pause before sending, posting or sharing; and be cautious with people they only know online. It also explains that photos, videos and messages can be saved, forwarded or screenshotted, even when a child did not intend for them to travel further.
Several points address common online problems for kids and young teenagers: group-chat bullying, embarrassing posts, frightening or sexual content, pressure to share intimate images, and worrying messages. The prompts encourage children to stop engaging, leave or mute a chat, tell a trusted adult, and avoid meeting someone known only through the internet. These are useful internet safety rules for children who may need simple wording they can remember.
A final section covers blocking, reporting and keeping evidence when it is safe to do so, alongside reassurance that children can ask for help after making a mistake. Families can print the sheet, read one point at a time, check privacy and location settings together, and identify trusted adults a child could approach. It can also support a first phone agreement, e-safety lesson, parenting session or safeguarding discussion.
