By Movieguide® Staff
Every parent knows the internet is dangerous — but knowing and doing something about it are two very different things.
Internet Safety 101 identifies the real threats children face online as “contact by sexual predators, exposure to inappropriate content, cyberbullying, inappropriate sharing of personal information, and harm to mental health.” International Justice Mission’s Protecting Children in the Digital Age report documents how far online sexual exploitation has grown in the digital age — and who bears the cost.
The good news: the tools to fight back exist, most of them free. Here are 15 practical steps drawn from expert research by Internet Safety 101 and International Justice Mission that every parent can take today.
Start with conversation.
No app replaces a real relationship. Talk directly with your kids about predators, inappropriate content and why a stranger online is still a stranger. Internet Safety 101 recommends making this conversation happen before setting a single parental control.
Set the rules before handing over devices.
Establish expectations upfront — which apps are allowed, when screens turn off and what sharing online looks like. Rules set after the fact are harder to enforce and easier to argue around.
Consider a kid-designed phone for younger children.
Smartphones built for kids — like Bark, Gabb, Pinwheel and Troomi — run on restricted Android systems that block social media, filter the web and send parents alerts for inappropriate activity. They’re worth considering for middle schoolers who don’t yet need full internet access.
Activate parental controls on standard phones.
Apple’s Screen Time and Google’s Family Link both let parents restrict apps, set daily time limits, manage contacts and monitor location — all for free. Internet Safety 101 walks through both platforms step-by-step.
Set up supervision accounts on social media.
Related: Set Your Child Up for Success With These Screen Time Facts
Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube all offer linked parental accounts that give parents visibility into their child’s activity. Some allow parents to restrict messaging and set time limits — stronger than nothing, even if imperfect.
Make social media accounts private.
Switching accounts to private means only approved followers see what your child posts. Almost every major platform — Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, WhatsApp and X — supports this setting. Flip that switch.
Restrict direct messaging from strangers.
Predators reach children through DMs, and every platform has some form of contact restriction. Instagram and TikTok let parents limit or disable messaging through linked accounts; Discord and WhatsApp allow users to restrict who can message them directly. Internet Safety 101’s social media guide documents the options on each platform.
Know which platforms have no parental controls at all.
WhatsApp and X (formerly Twitter) allow adult content and offer no linked parental accounts whatsoever, according to Internet Safety 101. Discord also includes adult content. For some platforms, the right answer is simply not yet.
Schedule screen time on and off.
Every major social platform, phone OS and gaming console lets parents block access during set hours or cap daily totals. The dinner table and bedtime are natural boundaries — enforce them digitally, not just verbally.
Use parental controls on gaming consoles.
Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox all have family safety systems that enforce content ratings, limit contact with strangers, set spending caps, and monitor usage. Internet Safety 101’s gaming guide documents exactly which features each platform supports.
Disable voice and text chat with strangers in online games.
Online games are prime territory for predators because kids let their guard down when they’re having fun. Roblox, Fortnite and all major consoles let parents limit communications to an approved list — or disable them entirely.
Set in-game spending limits.
Every major gaming platform — Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox, Apple, Windows, Fortnite and Roblox — allows parents to set spending caps. In-app purchases are engineered to be hard to stop; the parental control and the conversation about money belong together.
Take AI chatbots seriously.
Character.AI has been linked to multiple teen suicides after enabling minors to develop inappropriate relationships with virtual characters. ChatGPT has been shown to be manipulated into providing self-harm advice. Internet Safety 101 recommends limiting AI use to times when a parent is present; child safety advocates do not currently consider popular AI assistants safe for unsupervised use by children.
Use device-level controls to block AI access.
Microsoft Family Safety can restrict Copilot; Google Family Link can block Gemini; Apple Screen Time can restrict AI apps. For younger children, consider blocking access to AI assistants entirely until these platforms develop meaningful safeguards.
Keep devices in shared spaces.
No parental control beats a parent who is actually in the room. When phones and laptops live in bedrooms, oversight disappears. Keep devices in common areas — especially at night — and the conversation never fully goes dark.
The internet will not protect your children. But parents who know what they’re up against — and use the tools available to them — can make a real difference.
Read Next: Here’s How Cutting Screen Time in Half Changed One Teen’s Life
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