Dear Parents,

On Monday evening, our Year 5 & 6 parents participated in a ZOOM meeting addressing the many aspects of social media. Lachlan Ellis, the Canberra Goulburn Child Protection Officer, hosted the session. Lachlan has a vast knowledge and experience in Social Media and its usage among school age children.

It was wonderful to have the parents who joined the ZOOM on Monday, however I think it is a great opportunity to remind all our parent community of the importance of how our children use digital devices.

The key points from Lachlan’s presentation were:

• Children and parents to follow the legal age recommendation of each App. Most social media Apps have a legal age of 13 years old, however it is wise to check each one individually.
• Never share passwords with friends or allow friends to add content to your social media sites.
• Always remember that all content added to social media can be kept forever and can resurface many years down the track. This includes Snapchat pictures that are not stored on devices but are stored on international servers.
• As parent’s it is vital that you are present in your child’s device and social media usage. Studies show that earning trust and journeying with your child is far more effective then banning and blocking. It is about the education that parents can give to their children on the correct usage of the device. If a child trusts their parents they are more likely to report problems that occur when using digital apps and devices.

Lachlan has also provided guidelines to help parents understand the issues of children using digital devices.  These are available in the links below.

Please remember the school is always here to support you and your children with the use of devices.

Regards

Phil Nielsen