How can parents involve children in setting up safety features so they take ownership of their online habits? 

Parenting Perspective 

When children are active participants in creating their own digital safety net, they are far more likely to understand and respect it. 

Turn Set-Up into a Team Effort 

Instead of setting up controls behind the scenes, make it a collaborative activity. Sit down with your child and explore the safety features of a new device or app together. Explain what each setting does in simple terms, such as what content filters block or how privacy settings control who can contact them. This approach builds understanding over mere compliance. 

Empowering Them with Choices 

Where possible, give your child a sense of agency by letting them make choices. For example, you can decide together who should be on their approved contact list or which apps should have location services turned off. Granting them this measure of control fosters cooperation and makes the rules feel less like a restriction and more like a personal choice. 

Connecting Rules to Real-World Safety 

For every safety feature you enable, explain the ‘why’ behind it. Connect each rule to a tangible safety benefit, such as how blocking unknown contacts prevents strangers from sending them messages, or how private profiles stop their information from being seen by the public. 

Building Practical Safety Skills 

Use the set-up process as a practical training session. Show your child how to use the tools themselves, such as how to report an inappropriate comment, block a user, or adjust their own privacy settings. This hands-on practice builds their confidence and competence to handle issues independently if they arise. 

Evolving with Their Maturity 

Frame the safety settings as a flexible guide, not a rigid cage. Schedule regular check-ins to review the rules together. As your child demonstrates responsible online behaviour, you can gradually grant them more autonomy. This shows that you trust their growing maturity and that responsibility earns greater freedom. 

Spiritual Insight 

Islam encourages proactive measures to ensure safety and views the responsibility of parenting as a sacred trust that involves both protection and education. 

Allah Almighty states in the noble Quran at Surah Al Baqarah (2), Verse 195: 

‘…And be benevolent, indeed, Allah (Almighty) loves those who are benevolent.’ 

In the context of digital safety, “doing good” is a proactive effort. Involving a child in setting up their own safety features is an act of goodness because it does more than just prevent harm; it actively teaches them wisdom, responsibility, and self-protection, which are lasting benefits. 

The parental duty of guardianship is a core theme in Islam. 

It is recorded in Sahih Muslim, 1829, that the holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: 

‘Every one of you is a shepherd, and every one of you will be asked about his flock.‘ 

This hadith reminds parents of their duty to protect their children. A wise shepherd does not just build a fence; they also teach their flock to recognise dangers. By involving children in setting up their own safety tools, parents are fulfilling this duty in the most empowering way: they are teaching their “flock” how to guard themselves.