Keeping Military Kids and Teens Safe Online

Talk about the opportunities, risks and responsibilities of being online. Discuss how to make safe, respectful choices, what to consider before sharing and how their actions contribute to their digital footprint.

Keep the conversation open by asking about their online experiences, interests and friendships, making space for both everyday updates and more difficult conversations.

As your child starts to spend time online, it’s natural to question how much freedom to give them and where to set limits.

Agreeing on expectations early helps establish boundaries and gives your family a consistent starting point when new questions or challenges come up.

Work together to set expectations around:

• Screen time and device use. Decide when, where and how long devices can be used.
• Apps, games and websites. Explore platforms together and agree on which are appropriate, how to use them safely and when to ask permission before downloading something new.
• Online communication. Discuss who your child can interact with and what respectful communication looks like.
• Downloads and purchases. Set rules for spending money online, making in-app purchases and sharing payment information.
• Practicing online safety. Talk through scenarios they may encounter, like sharing locations, receiving an unexpected message from a stranger, being asked for personal information or encountering upsetting photos, videos or other content, so your child knows how to respond.
• Asking for help. Make sure your child knows they can come to you or another trusted adult, like a teacher, caregiver or school counselor, if something online makes them uncomfortable.
• Where and when devices can be used. Establish clear ground rules for where devices can be used or stored. Include limits for school hours, homework, chores and other responsibilities.

Pro tip: Build flexibility into your rules. Consider making room for video calls with a deployed parent or online time with friends from a previous duty station, even if that means adjusting your usual screen time limits.

Once you’ve established family ground rules, take time to secure the devices, apps and accounts your child uses. A few simple steps can help protect their personal information and make their online experiences safer:

• Review privacy settings. Limit who can view your child’s profile, contact them or see their activity.
• Secure their accounts. Use strong, unique passwords and turn on multifactor authentication when available.
• Manage location sharing. Turn off unnecessary location services and review which apps can access your child’s location.
• Check age requirements. Make sure apps, games and online platforms are appropriate for your child’s age and maturity.
• Keep devices updated. Install software and security updates to help protect against vulnerabilities.
• Turn on parental controls. Manage downloads, purchases, content access and online communication.
• Protect personal information. Use a nickname or alias, and only provide non-identifying information. This goes for usernames, too.
• Make safe profiles. Use their correct age when signing up so they receive age-appropriate safety features and privacy protections.

Pro tip: Moves and deployments can change your child’s support network. Help them build connections with trusted adults — from family members and caregivers to teachers and community mentors — so they know who to turn to when they need help.

A photo, post or message can reach more people and places than your child intends.

Help them build a habit of pausing before sharing, with these questions:

• Who could see this? Remind them that even private messages and posts can be saved, screenshotted or forwarded.
• Am I sharing too much? School names, addresses, locations and military family details like deployments, duty stations and travel plans should stay private. Talk through OPSEC best practices together so everyone understands what military-related details are safe to share.
• Is this mine to share? Encourage them to ask permission before posting photos or information about friends and family.
• Would I be comfortable with others seeing this later? Remind them that once something is shared online, they cannot control where it ends up, even if it’s deleted.
• How easy would it be to recognize me? Discuss how facial recognition technology can make it harder to keep their identity private in photos shared online.
• Could this affect someone else’s privacy? A photo you love might be embarrassing or too personal for someone else.

Pro tip: Review online privacy and security resources from the Federal Trade Commission for additional tips on protecting your family’s devices, accounts and personal information.

Help your child build a healthy relationship with social media, online games and AI tools by talking about how much time is appropriate and how online activities affect their mood, relationships and everyday life.

• Find a healthy balance. Make time for offline activities, face-to-face connections, sleep and family time.
• Talk about online pressures. Discuss how social media, influencers, likes and comments can affect how kids see themselves and others.
• Set expectations for when devices are used for schoolwork and when they’re used for fun. Encourage your child to finish chores and daily responsibilities before starting games, social media or other recreational screen time.
• Recognize when it’s time for a break. Encourage your child to notice when an app, game or interaction leaves them feeling frustrated, anxious or left out.
• Model healthy habits. Show your child what balanced technology use looks like through your own screen time and online behavior.

As apps, games and online trends change, keep learning about the platforms your child uses and how they spend their time online.

• Check in on new interests. Ask about apps, games, online communities and trends your child wants to try.
• Explore new features together. Have your child show you how their favorite platforms work, especially when new ways to connect or share become available.
• Get familiar with popular apps and games and what to know about their features and potential risks.

From homework help to online searches and interactions, artificial intelligence is becoming part of how kids use technology every day.

Use these tips to help your child understand what these tools can and can’t do — and how to use them safely.

• Explore AI tools together. Ask your child about the AI tools they use — including AI features within apps, games and learning platforms — and explore how they work together.
• Talk about potential risks. Help your child understand how AI can be misused to create misleading information, fake images or videos and content that could hurt or deceive others.
• Question AI-generated content. Explain that AI can produce convincing answers, images and videos that aren’t always accurate or real. Encourage your child to check important information against trusted sources.
• Use AI to support learning. Encourage your child to use AI to better understand concepts and practice skills rather than completing their assignments for them.
• Keep chatbot relationships in perspective. AI chatbots may sound and respond like real people, but they aren’t human friends, substitutes for trusted relationships or replacements for mental health support from trusted professionals.
• Protect personal information. Remind your child not to share private details, photos or family information with AI tools.

Pro Tip: As AI becomes more prevalent in everyday online activities, use current guidance to stay informed and keep up with your child’s changing digital world.

Texts and group chats can sometimes lead to misunderstandings, hurt feelings or pressure to stay connected. Help your child navigate everyday conversations and build positive communication habits with these tips:

• Think before responding. Encourage your child to consider their tone, reread messages and avoid replying when upset.
• Respect boundaries. Remind them to ask before adding people to group chats, forwarding messages or sharing screenshots.
• Take breaks from conversations. Explain that it’s OK to step away from group chats, work through disagreements offline and wait to respond.

Make sure your child knows they have options when a conversation becomes uncomfortable, inappropriate or threatening:

• Stop the conversation. Explain that they don’t owe anyone a response, especially when they feel pressured or uncomfortable.
• Block unwanted contacts. Show your child how to block numbers and accounts on the platforms they use.
• Report concerning messages. Practice using in-app reporting tools for harassment, threats or inappropriate content.
• Ask for help. Encourage your child to tell you or another trusted adult about concerning interactions. Help preserve relevant evidence when necessary.

Kids don’t always speak up when they’re experiencing bullying online. Pay attention to changes in their mood, behavior or technology use, including:

• Becoming upset, anxious or withdrawn after using a device
• Suddenly avoiding certain apps, games or group chats
• Pulling away from friends, school or activities they usually enjoy
• Becoming unusually secretive about online interactions
• Changes in sleep or everyday behavior

Note: It’s not always easy to tell what’s happening from the outside. Learn more about cyberbullying to better understand what to watch for and how to help.

If your child comes to you about cyberbullying, how you respond matters.

• Listen and reassure. Give your child space to explain what happened and remind them they don’t deserve to be treated that way. Agree to work together on next steps without making them worry about losing access to their devices.
• Document harmful interactions. Save messages, screenshots, dates and relevant details.
• Block and report. Help them report abusive accounts and content through the platform.
• Involve the right people. Contact school staff when classmates are involved, and law enforcement if there are credible threats or immediate safety concerns.
• Check in afterward. Continue conversations about how they’re feeling and whether the behavior has stopped.

Talk with your child about how their actions can affect others online and what they can do if they witness cyberbullying. Even small actions, like refusing to share hurtful content, checking in with someone being targeted or reporting bullying to a trusted adult, can make a difference.

Some scams are disguised as messages from friends, gaming rewards or offers that seem too good to pass up. Let your child know about these common examples:

• Phishing messages — unexpected texts, emails or direct messages containing suspicious links or requests for passwords and personal information
• Gaming scams — offers for free virtual currency, rare items or account upgrades that require a login, download or payment
• Fake giveaways — contests, prizes or rewards that require personal details or an upfront fee
• Impersonation — fake accounts or messages pretending to be friends, companies, influencers or trusted organizations
• Shopping and purchase scams — fake stores, misleading offers or fraudulent transactions involving games and online purchases

Not every message comes from someone with good intentions. Help your child recognize when a text, direct message or group chat interaction deserves a closer look:

• Messages from unknown numbers or unfamiliar accounts
• Unexpected links, attachments or requests for passwords or personal information
• Someone pretending to be a friend, family member or trusted organization
• Requests to keep conversations secret or move to another platform
• Messages creating pressure to respond or take action immediately

Pro tip: Make a rule to pause and check with you or another trusted adult before responding to unexpected messages or clicking unfamiliar links. Explore the FTC’s spam text guidance for practical steps to identify, block and report unwanted messages.

Help your child recognize suspicious offers and requests, protect their information and know what to do if something goes wrong.

• Pause before clicking. Talk through suspicious messages, unfamiliar links and offers that seem too good to be true.
• Check the source. Verify unexpected requests through trusted websites or contact methods rather than links in messages.
• Protect accounts and purchases. Keep passwords, verification codes and payment information private, and review in-game purchases together.
• Speak up about suspicious activity. Encourage your child to tell you if they’ve clicked a link, shared information or made an unintended purchase.
• Take action quickly. Secure affected accounts, check for unauthorized transactions and report suspected fraud through ReportFraud.gov.

Help your child understand that people online aren’t always who they claim to be. Some may use attention, compliments, gifts or promises to gain trust before making inappropriate requests — a process known as online grooming.

Talk together about warning signs, including:

• Requests to keep an online friendship or conversation secret
• Offers of gifts, money or gaming rewards in exchange for photos or attention
• Pressure to share intimate images, videos or personal information
• Repeated attempts to move conversations to private messaging platforms
• Threats to share personal images or information unless the child complies with demands

Be aware that sextortion involves threatening to share intimate images to pressure someone into sending more images, money or other things. These threats can also involve altered or AI-generated images.

Conversations about personal boundaries don’t have to be frightening or uncomfortable. Use age-appropriate examples to help your child understand what safe online interactions look like and when something crosses a line.

Reinforce and remind your child that they:

• Have the right to say no, stop a conversation or block someone who makes them uncomfortable.
• Should never feel pressured to share intimate images or engage in sexual conversations.
• Don’t have to keep secrets that make them feel worried, threatened or unsafe.
• Can come to you or another trusted adult for help, even if they’ve already shared something.

If your child experiences inappropriate behavior or exploitation online, there are steps you can take to protect them and address what happened.

• Listen without judgment. Thank your child for telling you and reassure them that they deserve help and support.
• Stop further contact. Don’t engage with the person making threats, send additional images or make payments.
• Preserve information safely. Keep usernames, account details and relevant messages, but don’t download, copy or forward explicit images involving minors.
• Report suspected exploitation. Contact law enforcement or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s CyberTipline.
• Seek support. Help your child access appropriate emotional support, victim assistance and other available services.