Teaching children about online safety is crucial in today's digital world, where the internet offers both opportunities and risks. Parents must be vigilant, informed, and engaged to ensure their children’s safety in an ever-evolving digital landscape. However, with the list of parental concerns seemingly endless, it is unclear where online safety ranks among their fears or their willingness to take action to educate themselves, their children, or advocate for greater change.

To measure awareness and concern for child online safety as well as identify evocative messages to alert and motivate parents to action, ECPAT – the world’s largest influencing network fully dedicated to ending the sexual exploitation of children – asked Untold Research to conduct an online survey of parents and caregivers in France (n=500), Poland (n=505), the Netherlands (n=510), Spain (n=540), and Sweden (n=589). The same questionnaire fielded in all five countries from September 27-October 9, 2024.

The study found online safety tops the list of parental concerns (55%) when it comes to their child’s well-being and development and three-quarters (76%) trust their instincts and experience to help their children navigate online safety. However, in many cases, that may not be enough. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), more than 100 million images of child sex abuse were reported online in 2023 – that’s more than 250,000 per day.

With advances in technology and criminal activity moving faster than parents can likely keep up, it is important to seek advice or resources from online safety organizations which are staying ahead of the curve – something only one-quarter (27%) of parents have an interest in doing. Therefore, more parents must be made aware of the dangers of online predatory activity and educate both themselves and their children on how to stay safe and secure.