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For parents

10 Ideas to Help Your Teen be Happy Online

Swap the rows about screen time for conversations that help your teenager enjoy being online and come to you when something goes wrong.

  • 51 minutes
  • Certificate
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About this course

To a lot of teenagers, a friend they've never met in person is still a real friend, and time online is just part of life. If you only ever ask about screen time, you'll hear very little about the rest.

These 10 ideas help you get alongside your teen instead. Show real interest in what they do online. Agree ground rules as a family, including ones you'll keep yourself (if you ask them to put the phone down, yours goes down too). Talk about what a good friendship looks like, the stories people choose to tell with a filter, and what to do about trolls. Help them clear out the accounts that leave them feeling worse.

The most important idea is a no-blame promise: whatever happens online, they can tell you and you'll help. Say it often, so that if something serious does go wrong, you're who they turn to.

Modules

12 modules
  1. 1Introduction1 min
  2. 2Wrap Up & Resources1 min
  3. 3Idea 1 – Show an interest in their life online8 min
  4. 4Idea 2 – Set ground rules together8 min
  5. 5Idea 3 – Be a good role model4 min
  6. 6Idea 4 – Create a no blame culture6 min
  7. 7Idea 5 – Discuss healthy relationships4 min
  8. 8Idea 6 – Encourage them to cleanse their timeline4 min
  9. 9Idea 7 – Talk about the stories people tell3 min
  10. 10Idea 8 – Don’t feed the trolls5 min
  11. 11Idea 9 – Take it offline4 min
  12. 12Idea 10 – Plan for the worst and hope for the best!3 min

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Good to know

  • A certificate when you finish.
  • Stop when you like and pick up where you left off.
  • Got a link from your child's school? Use that instead: it's free for you.

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