I wanted to share this reel that I came across by Dr. Catherine Knibbs. She’s a child therapist based in the UK who completed her dissertation on Cyber Trauma. Here she explains the impact on kids ages 7-10, in their own words, when they view inappropriate—as well as why they don’t always tell a parent.
I think there’s a misconception that only negligent parents let their kids watch inappropriate things, but the reality is that it’s so incredibly accessible—literally the push of a button.
And when it’s not as extreme as pornography, it can be really hard to notice. I mean, some shows marketed toward kids are disturbing. For instance, The Amazing Digital Circus is rated PG on Netflix, but is *highly* inappropriate. The creator herself said it was intended for 13+, but even then, I wouldn’t let my almost-13 yr old watch it.
As a reminder, they don’t ask child safety or child development experts to assign ratings. Netflix often assigns their own ratings based on nudity, violence, or language…and it’s easy to miss inappropriate concepts if there is no physical violence or cursing.
So where does that leave us? Most of us don’t have time to screen every single piece of content they consume. What can we actually do??
Well, some of the things I recommend are:
-having ongoing conversations about safe vs unsafe people and healthy vs unhealthy relationships; get them into the habit of considering the content they consume so they don’t subconsciously normalize toxic behaviors.
-talk to them about what to do if they see something that makes them uncomfortable, and that in their body, “uncomfortable” might show up as their tummy feeling weird, or having a hard time breathing.
-cultivating trust so that they know they can come to you for anything—this takes time and is based on all the small in-between moments that often go unnoticed.
-limiting screen time, especially if it’s unsupervised.
-bedroom is a no-phone/device zone at night. I do this by leaving the charger downstairs. It’s been the rule since day one, and we get zero push back on it. FYI I have seen algorithms get weird at night.
At the end of the day, it’s not about raising our kids in a bubble, but equipping them with the knowledge and support to keep them safe ❤️🔥
For more on how to keep kids safe from issues like bullying, frenemies, harmful tech, and predators, check out my self-paced Child Safety 101 Masterclass or Safe Parent Group Mentorship.