Laptops

There is no official or recommended age for a child to have their own laptop.

As with any piece of technology, use your judgement to decide if you are happy for your child to use it.

Like any piece of technology, laptops have both benefits and risks. Many of the risks depend on how a laptop is being used and the apps that are installed. For example, if it is being used for online gaming, this could introduce a risk of communication with strangers.

There are some key concerns people have about children using laptops in particular:

Ensure that any second hand laptop has been restored to its factory settings before letting your child use it. This means deleting all data on the laptop and returning it to the state in which it would have been if purchased brand new. This will avoid the possibility of accessing someone else’s personal information, private messages, photos, accounts, etc. It will also allow you to set up parental controls that are most suitable for your child.

For further information on buying and safely setting up a laptop for your child, please visit Internet Matters’ page on laptops and tablets for children.

Using the laptop with your child is a fun way to familiarise yourself with the device, how it works and how they like to use it. A shared device can be a great way to model responsible and positive use of technology, preparing your child for when they use one independently.

Explore the parental controls on offer and set up boundaries with your child around how you expect them to use the laptop. A family agreement can help you have these conversations. Make sure to give your child the confidence to talk to you if anything worries or upset them while using it.

Parental controls can help you limit potential risks by setting age limits for apps, creating a list of websites that they are allowed to visit or blocking certain websites. On a shared device, you may be able to set up individual child accounts with specific safety features.

For guidance on how to set parental controls on entertainment services and search engines, you can read Internet Matters’ step-by-step instructions for each provider.

Keep talking with your child about how they are using the laptop and take an interest in the things they use it for. Open conversation lets your child know you are someone they can go with any questions or worries.

You can also visit Childnet’s key topics for specific advice for different risks.

Reassure your child they have done the right thing by telling you and that you are there to listen and help. Try to remain calm and non-judgemental, to help your child feel comfortable in telling you how the issue happened.

Work with your child to report or block any unacceptable behaviour or other users. Contact your child’s school for further support, particularly if it involves cyberbullying between classmates or inappropriate contact from an adult. If you suspect that your child is or has been the subject of inappropriate sexual contact by another person (grooming), report this to Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre at www.ceop.police.uk.

If your child has accessed inappropriate content, you can report this to the site or service it appeared on. Find out how to do this on the Childnet website.

Explore the settings to see if you can limit the risk of it happening again.

For help for on specific problems, see the following advice on online bullying, sexting, pornography, social media, parental controls and online challenges.