Online safety and privacy of children have been the growing concerns among parents these days. A new study by Kaspersky reveals that 84 per cent of parents are worried about their child's online safety and privacy. But despite this conscience among parents, they are not discussing enough internet safety with their children. The survey points out that on average, parents spend only 46 minutes talking to their children about online privacy and security, which is half the time of one football game.

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Key Findings

Some of the other key findings of the report are as follows:

-- 58 per cent of parents spend less than half an hour discussing the importance of online safety with their child.

-- 9 out of every in 10 children between the age group 7 to 12 globally have at least one internet-enabled device (either smartphone or tablet or both).

-- 64 per cent of parents agreed their kids spend too much time on the internet.

-- Children spending too much time online could also lead to various potential risks such as cyberstalking.

-- 27 per cent of parents described children seeing sexual and violent content as online threats.

-- 26 per cent of parents described children experiencing internet addiction as online threats.
 
-- 14 per cent of parents described their children receiving messages from strangers or content inciting them to perform violent or inappropriate activities as online threats.

-- 81 per cent of parents say parents and schools are equally responsible for raising awareness about online safety among children.

-- 86 per cent 'believe that parents are better positioned to do so since children generally trust them more.'

Key Challenges

Following are some of the biggest challenges parents described in the process: 

-- 60 per cent of parents described explaining online threats to their children in a way they can understand as a challenge.

-- 51 per cent of parents described getting children to take online risks seriously as a challenge.

-- 42 per cent of parents described discouraging from falling for peer pressure as a challenge.

Experts comment

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"Children need to be protected, and parents can do this by firstly educating themselves about the sites that their children visit by spending time with them as they surf the web, and secondly, by ensuring they have a reliable solution that protects their children from stumbling on inappropriate or offensive material," said Emma Kenny, a leading psychologist.