Some parents turn to socialmedia to punish and discipline their children by publicly shaming them.

The implications and consequences of this public shaming and humilation are serious and at times fatal.

Public humiliation videos will cause problems for young people when they apply for college and employment. It seems that parents do not realise the message; 'Post once and it's there forever' applies to their social media activity too.

It should also be noted that there have been tragic incidents where young people have taken their own lives following public shaming by their parents.

In the US there is a proposal to make parental public shaming of their children a state offence.

'Nude Selfies: What Parents and Carers Need to Know' is a series of four short animated films for parents and carers offering advice on how to help keep their children safe from the risks associated with sharing nude and nearly nude images.

The films aim to help parents and carers:

• Understand young people's motivations for sending nude selfies.
• Plan to respond positively and constructively to an incident in which their child has shared a nude selfie.
• Gain confidence and skills in initiating preventative conversations.
• Identify risky behaviours or situations and know where to seek help.
• Know how to get help if a child is at risk after sharing an image.

The NSPCC continues to provide comprehensive support for parents and carers to help them understand the challenges and opportunities of socialmedia for their children.

Read more on the NSPCC's resources and support here

The h2bsafer (how to be safer) hub is designed to provide you with information and advice that is easy to access and simple to understand. Use the short videos and step-by-step prompt cards to ensure you have a safer online experience.

The content is compiled and kept up to date by h2bsafer advisers, who work closely with the trust and safety teams of popular social media platforms.

Read more

A comprehensive and helpful guide for parents relating to the challenges of Instagram.

The resource can be found here.

On Friday 9 January, NSPCC  launch a public education campaign, called Share Aware, to help parents keep their children safe online.

The campaign is aimed at parents and carers of children aged 8-12 – the age at which they start doing more online, become more independent and use a greater range of devices. The campaign aims to encourage parents and carers to understand online safety and to have conversations with their children about keeping safe.

The Share Aware campaign aims to give parents the tools to feel confident to have these conversations. The campaign directs parents to a range of new resources, including NetAware, a simple NSPCC guide to the social networks, sites and apps children use – as rated by parents and young people themselves. We will be providing information on this guide at the time of the launch.

There is also a downloadable guide and a hard copy booklet for parents, containing top tips for keeping your child safe online, as well conversation starters to help parents have conversations with their children.

 The Share Aware resources can be accesed Here