Timaru parents are being urged not to leave their children to their own devices.
A free online safety event is planned to be held at Waimataitai School on Monday.
The event, Left to Their Own Devices, aims to share practical tools for guiding children safely through today’s digital world.
Event organiser Jess Medforth said she kept coming back to the analogy of children learning to ride a bike.
‘‘As parents, we make sure they have a helmet, we help teach them the road rules, we ride alongside them until they gain the confidence to navigate the risks alone.
‘‘When it comes to technology, the risks aren’t as visible or easy to detect.’’
She said the speaker — Holly Brooker — would be a ‘‘wealth of knowledge’’.
Mrs Medforth said, ‘‘From my side personally, as a mum as well, I wanted to organise this talk so parents are informed of the risks and can make informed decisions about what works for their families.’’
Social media had not been a thing when most parents were growing up, so ‘‘it’s unknown territory’’.
‘‘We don’t want to put our kids in harm’s way, but we haven’t had to navigate this ourselves.
‘‘If we don’t know the risks, we can’t have the right conversations.
‘‘Any education and guidance can only be a positive thing for everyone involved.’’
Ms Brooker said her talk was grounded in research, stories, and support, and would leave participants hopeful and empowered to manage the balance of tech with family life.
She said some of the the key topics were understanding online risks and practical strategies to minimise those risks.
The event would provide things like scripts for age-appropriate shame-free conversations and insights on screen time, gaming, YouTube and social media use.
Left to Their Own Devices will be held on Monday 9 at Waimataitai School from 7pm-8.30pm.
Save your seat on Humanitix.
