Our kids have grown up with media all around them. It is not surprising that they are gaining access to this media on an increasing basis. But children having access should mean that we try to protect them. A recent report by Ofcom investigating the media literacy among UK children shows some alarming results.

It is not surprising that households with children aged 5-15 have high levels of take-up of the main media platforms, e.g. digital TV, games consoles and the internet. What is interesting is how the data shows that children are becoming more fluent in media at a much younger age.

85% of children aged 5–7 live in a household with a games console, which is as high as 90% in households with boys.

Almost every child had access to a TV in their house, but what I found surprising was that 47% of 5-7s have access to a TV in their own bedrooms.

There has also been an increase in the number of younger children (aged 5-7) using the internet at home. Two thirds of children [66%] in this age bracket are using the internet. This increase does not appear to be the result of increased internet take-up within the home, suggesting that children in this age group are starting to use the internet at home at a younger age.

Children aged 5-7 mostly use the internet at least weekly for games (30%), schoolwork (26%) and information (15%).

The majority of parents say they trust their child to use the internet safely. However less than half of parents whose child uses the internet at home (45%) say they have internet controls or filtering software installed – fewer have set safe search settings.

The internet and digital media can be an amazing resource for our kids to learn and to play. For me the data shows an alarming trend where children can access/view content without parents being present or proper controls in place. As adults we need to make sure they are protected as well as ensuring they gain balanced access between fun and educational content.