Practical guidance for parents
Understand your child’s digital world
before it becomes a problem.
A trusted, plain-English hub for parents and carers. Age-based guidance, app and game explainers, slang you don’t recognise, and the phone settings worth checking tonight — without the panic.
Lead guide
The first phone, ages 11–13
The biggest jump. Social comparison, group chats and late-night scrolling all start here.
Read the 11–13 guideWhat they’re doing
- TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram (often under-age)
- Sharing location with friends
- Late-night messaging
What to watch for
- Body image pressure and comparison spirals
- Snap streaks driving compulsive use
- Strangers sliding into DMs
Settings tonight
- Private accounts on every social app
- Disable ‘suggest my account to others’
- No phones in the bedroom overnight
How to talk about it
- Agree a family media plan together — write it down
- Promise no-blame reporting if anything weird happens
By age
Pick a year. Get a plan.
Apps & games
The platforms in your child’s pocket.
Each guide covers the minimum age, why kids use it, the real risks, and settings to review.
All app guidesTelegram
18+ in the UK
Messaging, large groups and broadcast channels.
TikTok
13+
Short videos, trends, humour. The default ‘scrollable’ app for many teens.
Snapchat
13+
Photo messages that ‘disappear’ and Snap Map for live location sharing.
13+
Photos, reels, stories. Heavy on social comparison.
YouTube
13+ (Kids: under 13)
Where most kids actually watch ‘TV’. Includes gaming streams and shorts.
13+ independently; parent-managed accounts for younger users where available
School class group chats live here. Used by every age.
Decode
Slang, acronyms, emoji.
We tell you what a term can mean — and when it’s worth a calm conversation rather than a confiscation.
Open the glossary67
“Six seven”: a playful meme response without one fixed meaning; sometimes used for “so-so”.
Usually fine212
May be a reference to the Azealia Banks song or simply a number.
Usually fine420
Can refer to cannabis; it may also simply be a number.
Worth a chat1437
Sometimes interpreted as “I love you forever” from letter counts; not independently corroborated in this review.
Usually fine143
‘I love you’ — letter count.
Usually fine