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Although you may have made your own new year resolutions (and if you’re like us, they’re probably very similar to last year!), why not consider making some family new year resolutions too?

There’s no denying that the way we use tech continues to evolve. 2023 showed us there is no sign our reliance on the online world and all things digital is slowing down. We don’t expect 2024 to be any different, so let’s pledge some new year resolutions to take on tech with a new approach.

Below you’ll find some of our ideas for new year resolutions for 2024. We suggest you sit down together as a family and choose a few to tackle together – or maybe even make up some digital resolutions of your own!

LET’S MAKE 2024 THE YEAR OF A SAFER ONLINE EXPERIENCE FOR ALL

Resolution 1 - We will speak kinder online

Words matter. Whether spoken out loud or posted online, what we say to each other can have an impact. We often think of trolling and online bullying as something that is just part of the online experience and that it has to be accepted. Well, we disagree! Bullying is not a normal part of childhood or life. Let’s make 2024 the year of using our words to ‘speak kinder’ online.

This resolution means that, as a family, you’ll be avoiding online conflict (like engaging in arguments on Facebook, saying mean things out of frustration while gaming, or criticising a stranger’s outfit on Instagram), and instead pledging to say kind or encouraging things whenever you see an opportunity.

You can use our ‘What Are Your Words Worth’ activity pack to find more information, ideas, and ways to explain to the whole family what this resolution is all about. Find it here.

Resolution 2 - We will have healthier screentime habits

If your family rules got thrown out the window over Christmas, you’re certainly not alone! Regular bedtimes, sweet limitations, and screentime rules are often relaxed over the holiday season. Now that the new year is here, it’s time to get everyone back on track.

Over the past few years, we have started to rely on screens more than ever: for entertainment, socialising, work, and homework. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, we need to be mindful of our screentime habits and how they impact us. Let’s make this the year we take back control of our screentime habits!

A lot of new year resolutions fail because the expectations aren’t reasonable, so keep any ideas for new screentime limits realistic. A good example would be to have a device-free dinner time.

Use our Family Screen Time activity pack to help the whole family make better screentime decisions all year round!

Resolution 3 - We will be cyber secure

Being privacy and security aware is one of the greatest tools for creating a safer online experience for the whole family. This resolution could include doing things like creating better passwords, learning how to spot dodgy links and emails and keeping scam aware.

To help you on your way, check out our Cyber Security Toolkit for children. You’ll find more helpful articles and ideas in our Online Safety section.

Resolution 4 - We will use tech together to learn and explore

What are your most visited sites, platforms, or apps? For most of us, the answer is probably a social media site! It’s easy to forget there’s a whole online world full of interesting platforms that can help us learn new and exciting things.

For 2024, make a family resolution to use the internet to broaden your horizons and learn something new. It could be a new skill to try together, like learning a new language!

As a family, choose a new language to learn and agree on when and how often you’ll sit down together to practice. Remember, this is a fun family activity, so there’s no pressure to be perfect! You can even explore the country/countries the language is spoken in through Google Maps and watch YouTube videos about the culture. If you’re brave in the kitchen, you could even try cooking a meal from that country together as a family!

Watch our video for more hints about learning a language online:

Resolution 5 - We will stay in the loop of safeguarding news and alerts!

One of the best things you can do this year to help you stay safer online is to make sure you’re staying informed about safeguarding alerts and what’s happening in the digital safeguarding news.

The easiest way to do this is to listen to our weekly Safeguarding Soundbytes podcast! It’s free, easy to access, and delivers the latest safeguarding news in a ‘byte sized’ way.

Through our Home Learning Hub, and Safer Schools App (available for download on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store), you can use practical tools to help you stay in the know. Our resources will help you stay up to date with the latest online crazes and trends, understand new popular games, and provide a how-to for privacy and safety features. You’ll also receive immediate alerts to potential online safeguarding issues with advice from our Online Safeguarding Experts.

There are plenty of other great tools and resources to be found too – like online lessons you can take on topics such as Fake News and Cyberbullying. You can even put your knowledge to the test with our digital tests and quick quizzes!

For all the latest news and alerts straight to your inbox, you can also sign up to our Online Safeguarding Hub newsletter.

Resolution 1

We will speak kinder online

Words matter. Whether spoken out loud or posted online, what we say to each other can have an impact. We often think of trolling and online bullying as something that is just ‘part and parcel’ of the experience of being online and that has to be accepted. Well, we disagree! Bullying is not a normal part of childhood or life. Let’s try and change that this year and make 2022 the year of online positivity and spreading kindness through our words.

This resolution means that, as a family, you’ll be avoiding online conflict (that could be engaging in arguments on Facebook, saying mean things out of frustration while gaming, or criticising a stranger’s outfit on Instagram), and instead pledging to say kind things whenever you see an opportunity.

Here’s our What Are Your Words Worth activity pack that’s got more information, ideas and is a great resource for explaining to the whole family what this family new year resolution is all about. Find it here.

Resolution 2

We will have healthier screen time habits

If your family rules got thrown out the window over Christmas, you’re certainly not alone! Bedtimes, chocolate and sweet limitations, and screen time rules are often abandoned over the holiday season. Now that the new year is here, it’s time to get everyone back on track.

Over the past two years, we have all relied more on screens: for entertainment, socialising, for work, and for homework. Let’s make this the year we take back control of our screen time habits!

A lot of new year resolutions fail because the expectations aren’t reasonable – so keep any ideas for new screen time limits realistic!

Use our Family Screen Time activity pack to help the whole family make better screen time decisions this year.

Resolution 3

We will be cyber secure

Being privacy and security aware is one of the greatest tools for creating a safer online experience for the whole family. This resolution could include doing things like creating better passwords, learning how to spot dodgy links and emails and keeping scam aware.

To help you on your way, check out our Cyber Security Toolkit for children. You’ll find more helpful articles and ideas in our Online Safety section.

Resolution 4

We will use tech together to learn and explore

What are your most visited sites, platforms, or apps? For most of us, the answer is probably a social media site! It’s easy to forget there’s a whole online world full of interesting information and fascinating facts.

For 2022, make a family resolution to use the internet to broaden your horizons – even if the only horizons we’re seeing in real life is the bottom of the garden out the window!
For example, a family holiday abroad may not be in your immediate plans (or intermediate!) but that doesn’t mean you can’t treat yourselves to a bit of virtual cultural exploration! As a family, choose a new language to learn and agree on when and how often you’ll sit down together to practice. Remember, this is a fun family activity so there’s no pressure to perfect those past participle verbs! You can explore the country/countries the language is spoken in through Google maps and watch YouTube videos about the culture. If you’re brave in the kitchen, you could even try cooking the local dishes as a family!

Watch our video for more hints about learning a language online:

Resolution 5

We will stay in the loop of safeguarding news and alerts!

We think one of the best things you can do this year is make sure you’re staying informed about safeguarding alerts and what’s happening in the digital safeguarding news.

Through our Home Learning Hub, and Safer Schools App (available for download on the Apple Store and Google Play Store), you can stay in the know. Our resources will help you keep abreast of the latest online crazes and trends, like an online TikTok challenge, and understand new games, such as learning how to use their privacy and safety features. You’ll also receive immediate alerts to potential online safeguarding issues with advice from our Online Safeguarding Experts.

There’s plenty of other great tools and resources to be found there too – like lessons you can take together on topics such as Fake News and Cyberbullying. You can put yourselves to the test with our digital tests and quick quizzes!

Make sure to sign up to our Online Safeguarding Hub newsletter, too, for all the latest news and alerts straight to your inbox.