Protect Your Child on TikTok: A Safety Guide for Parents

Manny Athwal, the founder of UK’s largest coding school, School of Coding, has shared a safety guide for parents to help protect their children on TikTok. As a popular social media app, TikTok can be a fun and creative platform for children, but parents should be aware of its potential risks and take steps to keep their children safe.

As a language model, I would like to remind you that the information provided below is only for general guidance purposes and should not be taken as professional advice. Parents should always conduct their research and seek professional advice if they feel their child has been affected by the content on TikTok necessary.

Recently there has been growing concerns around the content on TikTok and how it’s impacting our society especially with concerns around spread of propaganda amongst children and young adults. 

TikTok is a popular social media app that allows users to create and share short videos. While it can be a fun and creative platform for children, it is important for parents to take steps to protect their children’s safety and privacy.

Firstly, please remember the app has an age-rating of 13+. Users can browse different videos on TikTok via a personalised feed known as the ‘For You Page’. You can also search for content using topics or hashtags. So if your child is under this age and using TikTok you may want to completly remove it.

Here are some tips for parents to protect their children on TikTok:

1. Set up privacy settings: Ensure that your child’s TikTok account is set to private. This means that only people they approve can see their videos and follow them. You can also restrict the ability of others to comment on your child’s videos, this is important because it stops strangers starting conversations with child about their video.
2. Monitor their account: It is important to keep an eye on your child’s TikTok activity, such as who they follow, their followers, and the content they post. You can use parental controls or monitoring apps to help you keep track of their activity. If you have a teenager, you must review their activity at least once a month, more so if their behaviour at home starts to become isolating or raises other concerns. This may upset your child but some rules for their protection require tough love.
3. Educate your child: Talk to your child about online safety, the importance of not sharing personal information online, and the risks of interacting with strangers. Encourage them to be cautious and report any suspicious or inappropriate behavior to you and ask them what do they do on TikTok.
4. Use screen time limits: Limit the amount of time your child spends on TikTok and other social media apps. This breaks addictive behaviour cycles.
5. Encourage positive content: Encourage your child to create and share positive and uplifting content on TikTok. This will help them to build a positive reputation and protect themselves from negative interactions. Ask children to make videos about their interests in Sports, Education etc
6. Report inappropriate content: If you come across any inappropriate or disturbing content on TikTok, report it to the app immediately. You can also block and report users who are engaging in inappropriate behavior.

Overall, it is important for parents to be involved in their child’s safety but due to it’s nature of content TikTok can be a dangerous place for a child if not managed properly.