Kiwi parents concerned over kids' daily internet fix

What's more important to Kiwi parents – education, road safety, childhood obesity?

According to a new survey from Colmar Brunton – these concerns take a back seat while parents are becoming increasingly worried about internet safety.

Of the 500 parents surveyed from across the country, almost two thirds (62%) have a high level of concern about their children's internet safety.

In a sign of how prevalent life online is, 61% of parents surveyed revealed that their pre-school children are now getting a daily fix of internet.

The survey results also showed that parents were most concerned about the possibility of their child being exposed to inappropriate content online (37%), with the amount of time their child spends on devices ranking a close second (35%).

Vodafone and Netsafe have worked closely together to recognise Safer Internet Day yesterday – a global initiative that promotes the safe and positive use of the internet and digital technologies, particularly amongst young people.

 "As a mother of two teenagers, I have similar concerns about how my daughters use the internet, especially on social media, but it's about striking a balance between keeping them safe, while still allowing them to make the most of all the opportunities of the digital age," explains Vodafone head of Segment, Delina Shields.

"It's important that as parents, and as industry members, we work together to help Kiwi families use technology in a safe and positive way, which is why we launched digiparenting.co.nz – an online hub of articles, videos and printable guides offering simple practical digital parenting advice," Shields says.

Netsafe chief executive Martin Cocker says that the survey results reflect the feedback they receive from parents.

"We work with parents every day to provide support, education and advice on how to prepare and help children use the internet," he says.

"The survey results show that online safety is a key concern for parents, and highlights the importance of providing useful resources for parents and children," adds Cocker.