On 25th March, The Healthy Digital Childhood Alliance held a parent workshop designed around one clear goal: helping families build the practical skills and confidence to keep their children safe and balanced in the digital world.
We’ve spent years talking about the risks of excessive screen exposure and online harm, but this session was about moving from awareness to action.
Led by June Zhu, Co‑Founder of the Healthy Digital Childhood Alliance, parents spent the morning getting hands-on support with real-life issues: setting up parental controls on home Wi‑Fi, creating safer child accounts, and adjusting device settings that too often go untouched. With guidance from a group of dedicated IPS parent volunteers, every parent left not just with new knowledge, but with their own devices configured and working to better protect their families.
That might sound small, but it’s significant. Every time a parent knows how to make a home network safer, or how to guide a child’s first online steps with confidence, the community’s overall digital resilience grows.
From Control to Connection
One of the most valuable parts of the day came from May Kassem, M.A., Psychological Counselor and Certified Positive Discipline Educator, who hosted a “connection corner.” Her message reframed the conversation entirely: before we try to control, we must first connect.
That balance between protection and relationship is what real digital literacy looks like. It’s not about eliminating risk entirely, but about creating homes where boundaries are clear, empathy runs deep, and children learn to navigate technology responsibly because they feel safe talking about it.
Outcomes That Last
The impact of the session reached beyond the day itself. We identified several parents passionate and capable of supporting others with tech setup and safety guidance, forming the start of a peer network of digital mentors within the Healthy Digital Childhood Alliance community. This model, parents teaching parents, is one of the most effective ways to raise digital standards collectively.
Participants left more confident, more connected, and with a shared sense that protecting children online is a community effort.
One attendee, Zuzana, captured that spirit beautifully:
“I really enjoyed this morning’s session: it was hands‑on, practical, and immediately useful. It helped me better understand how to protect my family and children from the challenges they face online. What stood out most was the sense of parents supporting each other – it feels like a powerful way to raise the overall digital safety standard within the community. It also inspired me to take this further, and I’m now considering hosting a small breakfast at home so more parents can learn how to implement parental controls in a simple, effective way.”
For ehe Healthy Digital Childhood Alliance, this workshop reaffirmed what drives our work, empowering through knowledge, partnership, and trust. The healthier our digital habits at home, the stronger our children’s foundations for the future.
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