Dear Parents,
Recently there has been an increase in conflict as a result of children using social media before or after school.
Dear Parents,
Recently there has been an increase in conflict as a result of children using social media before or after school. This has resulted in hurt feelings, broken friendships, rumours, and bully type behaviour. Parents, then become understandably upset and attempt to address the situation in a variety of ways, sometime resorting to social media themselves to “pay back” on the parent or child who has upset their child. You can imagine the impact in school the day following this kind of exchange. While we cannot control the use of social media outside of school, we are providing the following information which may assist parents to determine whether or not their child should be introduced to social media, and if so, how to use it safely.
The first point to note is that school does not support nor recommend primary school aged children being involved in the use of social media. Most platforms have a recommended age of 13, which is the Australian Government recommendation and we support that restriction.
If, as parents, you choose to allow your child to use any form of social media, the following information may be taken in to consideration and has been written for parents of children 13+;
Most young people use some form of social media and have a profile on a social networking site. (Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter etc) Many visit these sites every day. While there are plenty of good things about social media — there are many risks associated with social media use. Kids don't always make good choices when they post something to a site, and this can lead to problems.
What can parents do:
Be aware of what they do online. The key is to stay involved in a way that makes your kids understand that you respect their privacy but want to make sure they're safe.
Tell your kids that its important to:
It is also highly recommended to:
Attached to this letter is further information that has been provided through esafety.gov.au/iparent
Sincerely,
Lee Musumeci,
Principal