Children’s Digital Safety Competence: The Role of Parental Mediation Practices in the Home Environment

The early and widespread access of children to digital technologies has increased the need to develop digital competence from a young age, particularly regarding online safety and digital well-being. While schools play an important role in digital education, the family environment constitutes a key context in which children’s digital practices are shaped. This study analyses children’s digital competence around safety by analyzing parental mediation strategies, family context and patterns of Internet use as perceived by primary education students. Using data from 277 children aged 8–13 and items adapted from the EU Kids Online questionnaire, inferential and correlational analyses were conducted. These analyses focused on Internet use time, active parental mediation, communicative proactivity and parental supervision. The results show that active parental mediation and communication are negatively associated with time spent online. They are positively associated with indicators of responsible and secure Internet use. These findings are discussed within the framework of DigComp 3.0, highlighting the role of the home as a fundamental space for the construction of children’s digital safety competence. The study concludes that children’s digital safety competence is not acquired spontaneously or exclusively through formal education but is directly linked to everyday educational practices developed within the family context.