New website aims to empower parents to better support children in an online world
Those behind it say 'who do you want shaping your children's views, the internet or you?'
A first-of-its-kind website has gone live to help parents take control of shaping their children's views - and combat internet misinformation.
It's funded by Devon and Cornwall's police and crime commissioner to help tackle violence against women and girls by encouraging healthy relationships.
The website features up-to-date information on what kids are likely accessing and advice for starting difficult conversations. It was developed after focus groups showed misogyny and pornography were topics parents of local teenagers felt concerned about.
The Let’s Talk service offers online sessions where parents can ask questions about a wide range of topics including how best to support children who find themselves ‘growing up in a porn culture’.
Rebecca Hewitt, Teignbridge Council’s Safeguarding Lead and Chair of the South Devon and Dartmoor Partnership said: "We know that young people will access pornography in some way, either on a friends phone or find a way themselves.
"We're really keen that parents can talk to their young people themselves around what's healthy, what's normal and what relationships are really like.
"Parents' experience from when they were young is a world away from what our young people are seeing in the culture today. For example pornography is very, very different. We see a lot more violence which is accessible to children and they are seeing it too.
"We don't want young people seeing that violence, experiencing that violence and thinking it's normal in relationships - we are concerned around the violence that's happening in our communities and unhealthy relationships.
"By us encouraging parents to have conversations around what is normal, what is healthy - compassion, kindness and love - those are the messages we want our parents to give young people around the relationships they want them to have - and also for youngsters to go to them if they've got concerns, if they see something that upsets them."
Dan Barton, who’s spent 25 years as a youth worker in Devon and now runs Space Youth Services, said: "Back in my day you'd possibly find a pornographic magazine in a bush on your way home and that would be your education for about five years.
“Now you've got your own Netflix playlist, everything's individualised and gives you the impression you're in your own little echo chamber of interest, but that's not true actually as the experience of parenting is quite universal.
"Now, on the internet, if you are not careful your education comes from really dark and scary places. Youngsters can internalize that as such a young age when their brain is still developing - so what young people really need is honest factual conversations."
The latest expansion of the service has been supported with more than £100,000 from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner - and in future will also have a focus on encouraging dads to get involved.
Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez said: "It was largely mums that were getting onboard and accessing the seminars, accessing the information - we really want to up the game now and reach out to dads."
"When we were younger it was myths and legends - and gossip - and we didn't know what was true or not - whether that was drugs, sex or rock 'n roll if you know what I mean?
"Now, today with the access to the internet children know a lot more, see a lot more and are confused a lot more about what's right or wrong - because a lot of it is seen as quite normal because it is accessible.”
Emma Stephens, from the Safety and Resilience Consultancy, has helped create the sessions and worked with parents to help design the new website – and she offers tips to have difficult conversations.
She said: "I think if you have a big one-off conversation across the dining room table that can be embarrassing for both of you - there's that cringe-worthy effect, you know they don't want to talk to their mum and dad about things like that.
"But if you have that conversation in the car, when you're both a little distracted and not looking at each other, or if you have that conversation when you're watching TV and something similar is happening - you can say 'what do you think about what they're doing', shall we have a conversation?"
Links to videos can be found here