What games are your children playing?
Children often ask to play online games based on what other children are playing which may mean they ask to play a game that is not always age appropriate for them. Before giving your approval for online games, it is good to do your research so that you can make an informed decision. Sometimes children may say that ‘all their friends are playing it’ but you might find that whilst a lot of children are talking about a game, they’re not actually playing it!

To help make an informed decision about whether your child should play a game you should:

1) Research – What is the recommended age for game? (Please see the ‘Recommended Age Guide Cheat Sheet’). Can people contact your child through the game?

2) Discuss – Talk to your child to find out why they want to play the game and maybe offer some more age appropriate alternatives.

3) Explain – If you decide that an online game is unsuitable, explain to your child why you have made that decision.

How does your child behave online?
One of the issues we sometimes see spilling over into the classroom is friends being unkind to each other whilst playing online. The very nature of online games means that it is very easy to send a nasty message in the heat of the moment and not think about the immediate consequences. How do you think your child would behave when they lose at their favourite game? Talk to your children about losing, talk about how they communicate online, sit with them whilst they play their games and review their online conversations to make sure they are being positive digital citizens.

The T-Shirt Rule: