How to help your child think carefully about online content
On this page you can find tips on how to help your child navigate their time online. Starting a conversation with your child about what they see online can help them build important life skills and support their wellbeing.
Every conversation is helpful. Making chats about content part of your family’s weekly routine can make a real difference.
On this page
- Understanding critical thinking
- How to start conversations
- Look at social media together
- Supporting children by having content chats every week
- Watch out for emotional triggers
- Think about who posted and why
- How to spot misleading or false content
- Check reliable sources together
- Talk about algorithms
Understanding critical thinking
Critical thinking means pausing before you believe something online. The internet is fun and useful, but it also has false information, where anyone can post online, not just experts or journalists.
It’s about:
- asking questions and knowing that not everything is true
- helping your child think carefully to build their confidence, keep them safer, and guide them to make good choices online
Why critical thinking matters
Children can find it hard to know what is true online.
To help them you can encourage them:
- to pause and think before they believe, share or act on something they’ve read online
- to learn to question and check facts before trusting information
How to start conversations
As part of your conversation, you can explore the internet together and talk about what you find.
Ask open questions such as:
- how does this post make you feel?
- who shared this content?
- why do you think they posted it?
Explain that not everything online is true and make it a habit to question online content together.
Look at social media together
It can be hard to know what your child sees online. A good way to stay connected is to scroll through their favourite app together.
Doing this regularly, for example once a week, helps you understand what they are viewing and opens space for conversation.
Keep the chat friendly and curious, not judgemental.
Ask questions like:
- which posts make you feel happy?
- which posts make you feel uncomfortable?
- what kinds of videos do you enjoy?
- are there posts you’d like to see less of? Why?
Look at who they follow and talk about variety. Encourage them to follow accounts with different ideas and reputable sources, such as trusted news organisations or educational accounts.
Weekly check-ins make it easier to talk openly about what they see online and help them build healthy habits.
Did you know?
Recent Ofcom research shows that 58% of children aged 8 and older are not allowed phones in their bedroom at night.
Supporting children by having content chats every week
If your child prefers not to share their social media feeds, try having a family chat instead.
Pick a regular time each week to talk about what everyone has seen online. Make it a friendly, two-way conversation where you share posts you enjoyed as well as anything that felt worrying or confusing.
You could talk about posts made you:
- feel good
- uncomfortable
- think
- question something
Then decide together what to do next:
- ask for help if something feels bad
- unfollow or block negative accounts
- change feed settings
- set parental controls, if needed
- take breaks from being online
- use screen time tools
Watch for emotional triggers
Teach your child to pause before reacting to content they see online. Posts that make you angry, shocked, or excited might be fake.
Emotional content spreads fast, even when it’s not true.
You could ask them:
- was this from a trusted site or a random account?
- what do you think this post wants you to feel? Is it trying to make you react?
- is it trying to make you react?
Let your child know it’s okay if something online feels upsetting or confusing as it might not be true. They can always come to you or another trusted adult for help.
Think about who posted it and why
It’s not always easy to know why something was made and posted online. Encouraging children to ask themselves simple questions about something they have seen, helps them become smart, confident social media users. Encourage your child to pause and ask:
- who posted this?
- are they being fair or could they be biased?
- why might they want you to believe it?
- could this have been made by AI?
These questions help children spot when something might be misleading and remind them that not everything online is true.
How to spot misleading or false content
Help your child look for warning signs that something might not be trustworthy.
When looking at content its important to check:
- does the website name look odd or unfamiliar?
- do you know who wrote it?
- is the headline shocking or designed to grab attention?
- are there lots of spelling mistakes or a messy design?
When reading posts or watching videos, encourage them to spot:
- all-or-nothing thinking that says something is all good or bad
- exaggerated or emotional language
- no sources or unverified claims
- jumping to conclusions without proof
- phrases like “everyone thinks this” or “you should believe this”
Why critical thinking matters
Not everything online is true. Help your child understand that anyone can post things, and some posts are misleading or made to grab attention.
Encourage them to check where information comes from before they believe or share it.
Did you know?
Weekly check-ins make it easier to talk openly about what your child sees online and help them build healthy habits.
Check reliable sources together
Show your child how to check facts using trusted sites. Encourage them to find at least one reliable source for the content they see online.
Stick to trusted organisations or reputable websites.
Checking before believing information helps build lifelong digital skills. It teaches children to slow down and make sure a post is true.
Talk about algorithms
Social media doesn’t just show posts in order. It uses algorithms to decide what appears based on what your child watches, likes or shares.
This can create a “bubble” where they only see one side of a story.
Help your child take control of their feed:
- follow a mix of accounts, not just ones they agree with
- use settings like “Not interested” or “See less” to reduce unwanted content
- report posts that are upsetting or harmful
It’s important for children to know how their feed is shaped. Explain that when they interact with posts, the app shows them more of the same. Social media is designed to keep people engaged, so it often shows content that grabs attention.
Why talk about this?
Having open conversations about algorithms helps children understand how their feed works and how they can shape it. This gives them more choice over what they see and helps them avoid getting stuck in a bubble.
Weekly check-ins make it easier to talk openly about what they see online and help them build healthy habits.
These talks help your child feel confident and in control online.
Keeping your child safe online: how to get started
Learn about the different actions you can take to help keep your child safe online
How to talk to your child about online safety
Talking to your child about being safe online can help protect them from harm, build trust, and know what to do if they need help
Parental controls: how to make a device safe for your child
Learn about why its important to make a device safe for your child to use
Find out where to get support
Get support on the different topics of online safety or use a helpline to speak to an expert
Know where to report something
If something happens online that upsets your child or puts them in danger, know where you can report it
Published: 22 December 2025 – Last reviewed: 22 December 2025
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