Submission ID 131842
| Issue/Objective | Children face increasing risks of cyberbullying, online victimisation, and exposure to harmful digital content, contributing to mental health issues and reduced academic performance. Parents, guardians, and caregivers (PGCs) play a critical role in supporting children's safe online engagement; however, their capacity varies widely. Families who are low-income, racialised, or recent immigrants often encounter additional barriers-including limited digital literacy, financial constraints, and cultural tensions-that heighten vulnerabilities for both children and caregivers. Despite growing concern, there is limited consolidated evidence on how PGCs navigate and promote children's safety online and on social media. This scoping review aims to map and synthesise strategies, facilitators, and challenges regarding how PGCs support children's online and social media safety. |
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| Methodology/Approach | We used the five-stage framework by Whittemore and Knafl (2005). About 2,790 peer-reviewed journal articles, published between 2017 and 2026, retrieved from PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases, were imported into Covidence for screening. Twenty-eight articles met the inclusion criteria and were retained for analysis. |
| Results | This review noted that PGCs combined monitoring, mediation and rule-setting strategies to protect children's social media and online safety. They commonly supervised screen time, controlled access to devices and content, manually monitored online activities, and engaged in open, face-to-face discussions about online risks. For older children, they jointly set rules and supported children's self-regulation. Facilitators included strong parent-child relationships, parental digital literacy, transparency-focused digital tools, and support from schools. Challenges included PGCs' anxiety and uncertainty about digital technologies (limited cybersecurity knowledge, lack of training, and rapidly evolving online risks), gendered beliefs (girls more closely monitored than boys), and tensions between protection, privacy and autonomy. Moreover, structural barriers were inconsistent caregiving practices across households, limited resources, and insufficient formal guidance. |
| Discussion/Conclusion | Findings highlighted the need for balanced, informed, and collaborative approaches that support PGCs while empowering children to navigate online environments safely, informing culturally responsive and equity-oriented policy development. By addressing digital safety as an emerging determinant of child health and wellbeing, this review aligns with the Canadian Conference on Global Health 2026 theme and underscores the need for scalable, inclusive strategies that empower families to promote safe online engagement. |
| Presenters and Affiliations | Joselyne Mukantwari Saint Francis Xavier University Dr. Yvonne Kasine Windsor University Dr Jean Pierre Ndayisenga Western University Dr Germaine Germaine Tuyisenge Muller Simon Fraser University |
