Safeguarding Your Child's Online World (Ages 5-10), A Talk for Parents
The real risks children face when they get their first devices, and what to do about them.
About the Talk
A first phone or tablet, at home or at school, opens your child up to a world you can't always see. This talk sets out plainly what that world looks like for a 5-10 year-old, and what actually keeps them safe.
Callum works through the four areas where risk sits for this age group:
Content, what they could see: From age-inappropriate material through autoplay and pop-ups, to AI-generated and fake videos they can't tell from real, and viral "challenges" and hoaxes younger children readily believe.
Contact, who could reach them: Strangers slipping into Roblox and Minecraft chat, grooming that begins with a free game item or a "friendship," and bullying that follows them home from the playground.
Conduct, how they could behave: Oversharing their location, school, or photos without realising, building a digital footprint far earlier than most parents think, and falling into screen habits that eat into sleep, play, and real-world time.
Cost, the money side: In-app purchases, loot boxes, and subscription traps designed to catch children out, turning play into spending often without a parent realising.
For each, Callum explains why children this age are so easily caught out, the specific settings, rules, and conversations that work, and what to do when something has already gone wrong.
The talk lasts around 45 to 60 minutes, with time afterwards for questions and discussion.
About Callum
Callum is the Founder and Director of Lomond Cyber, with over ten years' experience in cyber security and digital safeguarding across government, the military, and academia.
His career began researching how extremist groups target and radicalise children online, and he went on to work as a cyber security professional in the UK Cabinet Office on national programmes, from election security to critical national infrastructure. As a parent himself, he founded Lomond Cyber to give families structured cyber security guidance and support.
Callum holds an MSc in Software and Systems Security from the University of Oxford and further degrees from Sciences Po Paris and King's College London. He maintains DBS clearance and Level 3 Safeguarding Children certification.
£20