There have been recent reports that some seemingly innocent videos on YouTube and YouTube Kids (such as \u2018surprise eggs\u2019, unboxing videos and Minecraft videos) have been edited by unknown sources to include violence provoking and\/or other inappropriate content. This content may be shared with your child via social media channels: SnapChat, WhatsApp, Instagram and others.\u00a0 This content may encourage your child to self-harm or carry out some other \u201cchallenge\u201d. \u00a0As a parent, it\u2019s difficult to spot these videos as the harmful content doesn\u2019t appear until partway through the video.<\/p>\n
To protect your child from such harmful content, we recommend that you talk with your child on an ongoing basis about what he or she is accessing and about how to stay safe online.\u00a0 Reminding your child to tell you about anything upsetting that they encounter online is very important.\u00a0 Having regular and open dialogues about what your child is accessing will encourage them to talk to you if they feel unsafe or uncomfortable with any content online or bullying behaviours.<\/p>\n
Monitoring of your child\u2019s devices can also help to ensure they are safe online.\u00a0\u00a0 Seemingly innocent and harmless children\u2019s apps and videos can be used to share disturbing content and to encourage children to contact individuals that they do not know.\u00a0 Regular monitoring of your child\u2019s devices will bring this to your attention quickly and allow you to take appropriate action.<\/p>\n
You may find the following links useful to support keeping your child safe.<\/p>\n