The way we are engaging with online content has changed quite a lot. Once you have finished watching a video, you might want to share it, leave a comment, start a conversation or create your own video in response.Now, online video content is as much about the ways people talk about the video,as it is the video itself. When many people are participating in discussions around videos, there can be many different perspectives. When you watch videos together with your child, you can model positive ways to engage with different people and you can guide your child in understanding the content, meaning and context of a video.

Watch and talk together

Watching videos with your child can prompt valuable discussions about behaviour, stereotypes and decisions that were being demonstrated in the video. You can talk to your child about how they might react in a similar situation or what they liked and disliked about the video.

Research from the Child Mind Institute on the benefits of watching TV with young children suggests that ‘co-viewing’ can help children learn about:

• managing emotions
• making informed choices
• when to get help.

Share together

What are the types of videos that your child like to watch online? Do they have a favourite channel or celebrity that they like? Watching videos with your child gives you an idea about the kinds of videos that interest them.

Consider asking your child to find something for you two to watch, for example:

• tutorials about their hobbies or skills they want to learn
• young influencers who spread positive messages, like ‘Kid President’
• family or kids’ vlogs (video blogs) to learn about other people’s lives
• programs or animations with a message or story you can discuss
• Examples of young people being great digital citizens (see Inspiring Digital Citizens for some examples).

Learn together

Video content can be a great way to learn. There are videos that demonstrate skills and talk about topics in engaging ways. You might consider asking your child to help you find information that you both can learn from, whether this is something of personal interest or even something related to a topic being discussed in their classroom at school.

You can get involved in your child's learning by helping them choose video tutorials that can:

• create opportunities for discussion, ideas and questions
• demonstrate ways to perform skills
• talk about topics in engaging ways