Children’s Commissioner
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Digital 5 A Day

The Digital 5 A Day provides a simple framework that reflects the concerns of parents/ carers as well as children’s behaviours and needs. It can also act as a base for family agreements about internet and digital device use throughout both the holidays and term time.

Based on the NHS’s evidence-based ‘Five steps to better mental wellbeing’, the 5 A Day campaign gives children and parents easy to follow, practical steps to achieve a healthy and balanced digital diet.

Connect

The internet has enabled everyone to maintain friendships and family relationships no matter where they are in the world and children often say that chatting with friends is the best thing about social media.

It’s important to acknowledge that this is how children keep in touch but it’s also important to have a conversation with them about who they are connecting with and their privacy settings. Remember to keep a dialogue open and talk to your child to understand how they’re spending their time and so that they can come to you for help should they need to.

Be active

Activity is very important for mental wellbeing and all children should have time to switch off and get moving.

Children don’t have to be an athlete to be active. Find something that they enjoy – be that swimming, walking, dancing or yoga – begin at a level that works for them and make it a regular activity.

Researching an activity or place online before going out is a good way of combining the two and provides an opportunity for you to use the internet together.

Get creative

The internet provides children with unlimited opportunities to learn and to be creative. From learning to code to building complex structures in Minecraft to creating video content, the summer can be a great opportunity for children to build their digital skills. Time spent online doesn’t have to be spent passively consuming content. It can be educational, creative and can provide opportunities to build skills for later life.

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Channel website: https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/

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