Online safety: children 2-5 years

Why online safety matters for young children

At 2-5 years, children might like going online to connect with family and friends, watch videos or play games. They can do this using computers, mobile phones, tablets, TVs and other internet-connected devices, including toys.

There are safety risks for young children online, although they won’t usually be exposed to as many risks as older children. That’s because they’re less likely to be online independently.

You can help your child learn to be safe online. You can also take practical online safety precautions. This will protect your child from online safety risks. And it will also help your child make the most of learning, exploring, creating and connecting with others online.

As your child gets older and starts to go online independently, you’ll need to review risks and strategies for handling them. Our article on internet safety for children aged 6-8 years has tips.

Online safety risks for young children

There are 4 main kinds of online safety risks for children aged 2-5 years.

Content risks
These risks include illegal, inappropriate or harmful content or content that’s upsetting, disgusting or otherwise uncomfortable. For example, this might be sexual content in movies and games, pornography, violence, racism, images of cruelty to animals, or programs meant for older children.

Contract risks
These risks include signing up to unfair contracts, memberships or terms and conditions that children aren’t aware of or don’t understand. For example, children might click a button that allows a business to send them inappropriate marketing messages or collect their personal or family data.

Contact risks
These risks include coming into contact with people they don’t know. For example, children might use a communication app and talk to a stranger.

Conduct risks
These risks include acting in ways that might hurt others. For example, children might destroy a game a friend or sibling has created. Accidentally making in-app purchases is another conduct risk.

Helping young children learn about online safety

It’s important to help your child learn how to be safe and responsible online. When your child is a safe and responsible internet user, they’ll be better able to avoid the content, contract, contact and conduct risks above. And when risks come up, your child will be more likely to know what to do or to ask for your help.

Good ways to help your child learn about online safety include:

going online with your child
being a good online role model for your child
talking about good and bad online content.

Going online with young children

Going online with your child is one of the best ways to help them learn about being safe online.

It gives your child a chance to show you the apps, games or videos they enjoy and why. And it gives you the chance to show them how to enjoy those things in a safe way.

For example:

If advertising pops up when you’re online together, explain that advertisements are trying to make you buy something.
If you’re gaming with your child, you could explain about in-app purchases. For example, ‘People use the internet to make money, and we have to be careful not to give them our money by mistake. If something pops up on the screen, don’t click it. Come and tell me’.

Being a good online role model for young children

Your child learns from you. This means you can model safe and healthy internet use by using digital media in the way you want your child to use it, now and in the future.

For example, you can send powerful and positive messages about what the internet is for if your child sees you going online to keep in touch with people. This might include video calling your extended family or playing online board games with friends.

It’s also a good idea to find out how grandparents and other people in your child’s life use the internet and try to agree on a shared approach.

Helping young children learn about good and bad online content

You can explain to your child that there’s good and bad content online, including content that isn’t true.

You can also encourage your child to talk to you if they see something upsetting, scary or worrying. For example, you could say, ‘Some videos on the internet can be upsetting or scary. Tell me if you see something that scares you or makes you unhappy’.

It’s never too early to have conversations about appropriate online content with your child.

Practical precautions to protect young children from online safety risks

It’s important to help your child learn how to be safe online, but it’s also important to take practical precautions to protect your child from online risks of all kinds – content, contract, contact and conduct.

Where and how your child goes online

Use devices in shared spaces. This can encourage shared online experiences. It also means you can be close by and aware of what your child is doing online. You can act quickly if your child is concerned or upset by something they’ve seen.
Create a family media plan. Your plan could cover things like screen-free areas in your house, online safety rules, and programs and apps that are OK for your child. You can ask your child what they think should be in the plan.
Make sure that older siblings watch and use only age-appropriate content when younger siblings are around.

What your child does online

Use child-friendly search engines like Kiddle or Kidtopia. Or enable safe search, which you can get on most web browsers.
View only trusted children’s content like ABC Kids and CBeebies.
Consider using YouTube Kids or KIDOZ to view content that can be restricted by age.
Check that games, online videos, TV series and websites are appropriate for your child. You can do this by looking at reviews on Common Sense Media or Children and Media Australia.

How you guide your child’s online activities

Set up a folder with bookmarks for your child’s favourite apps, YouTube channels or websites so that they can easily find them. You can set them up on all the devices that your child uses.
Add profiles and passcodes on pay TV and streaming services to ensure your child can’t accidentally watch programs aimed at adults or older children.
Check privacy settings, use parental controls, block in-app purchases, disable one-click payment options and location services on devices including toys, and limit camera and video functions.

It’s OK if your rules are different from those of other families. If you’ve thought them through and involved your child and family in making them, and everyone is happy with the way they’re working, you’re helping to keep your child safe online.