HEPS Wellbeing Window

What to say when kids become anxious 

 Online safety at home 

At HEPS we are committed to informing and empowering our students and their families to be responsible digital citizens. We regularly engage with activities across all grade levels which are endorsed by the e-safety commission and the Victorian Curriculum to support students understanding of how to stay safe online and what to do if they don’t feel safe.

One way that parents can support their child's digital wellness at home is to have a discussion around screen time limits and what sites/app your family are engaging with. 

Let’s start by consider how different the following activities are:

• Building an imaginative world Minecraft, collaboratively with a sibling or friend
• Watching “epic fail” videos
• Playing an intense, multiplayer, first person shooter game
• Watching Frozen
• Learning with Reading Eggs app.

We know that children, are always watching and learning from the adults in their lives. Wwith this in mind it can be useful to sit down as a family and consider what sites and apps everyone is accessing, and the time being spent engaging with each. The above list can act as a conversation starter for these discussions and can help establish family screen time limits that are relevant to your family and the identified activities.

Australia’s physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines include the following recommendations for children between 5-17 years-old regarding sedentary recreational screen time:

● no more than 2 hours of sedentary recreational screen time per day

● avoiding screen time 1 hour before sleep

● keeping screens out of the bedroom.

To learn more about how to support the safe, intentional and responsible use of digital technologies at home, the eSafety Commissioner provides resources for parents, and outlines available counselling and support services. 

Sources: https://www.informandempower.com.au/

Source: Australia’s physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines, For children and young people (5 to 17 years) | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.

Be You Mental Health supports