Tradem Parental Controls Policy

There are 5 categories of controls

Settings - (not involving notifications or approvals) that are set by the parent for each child separately
Notifications - each time the child executes a particular action, the parent receives a message
Approvals - parent is notified of intended action of the child and has to approve before the child can execute the action
Activity feed - information shown about the child’s activity when parent logs in and clicks on child’s name
Monitoring of chatting - accessible through the activity feed page

Guiding principles with regard to the type of controls we offer and the default settings per age group that we propose

The best interest of the child is our guiding principle. This means that we can not eliminating 100% of all potential safety risks, as this would seriously harm the children’s privacy and their learning experience.

It also means that we do not encourage or support parents or guardians following and controlling everything their child does on the marketplace. Instead we encourage active family discussion on potential problems and risks.

We follow a controlled risk approach, which involves striking a balance between the following three factors: safety, privacy and learning experience.

The balance between these factors differs per age group. The younger the children, the more weight will be attached to the safety concern; the older they are, the more weight will be attached to their privacy.

In terms of the learning experience, for younger children there is a greater focus on learning skills and developing knowledge and for the older children the emphasis will be more on practicing autonomy and developing confidence.

Proposed settings age 4 - 5

Note that, if the child only has access to the service through a parent’s device and the parent and child do all interactions on the marketplace together, the parent may wish to turn off approval controls for buying and selling in order to make the experience more smooth and enjoyable.

Items for sale No control / Notify / Approve

Items purchased No control / Notify / Approve

Monthly spending limit XXX

Local collection notification ON / OFF

Deals completed notification ON / OFF

More information about this age group:

At age 3-5 children start to develop the ability to ‘put themselves in others shoes’, but are easily fooled by appearances. They are developing friendships, although peer pressure is relatively low and parental or family guidance or influence is key.

They are learning to follow clear and simple rules but are unlikely to have the cognitive ability to understand or follow more nuanced rules or instructions, or to make anything but the simplest of decisions.

They have limited capacity for self-control or ability to manage their own time online. They are pre-dominantly engaged in adult-guided activities, playing within ‘walled’ environments, or watching video streams.

Proposed settings age 6 – 9

Items for sale No control / Notify / Approve

Items purchased No control / Notify / Approve

Monthly spending limit XXX

Local collection notification ON / OFF

Deals completed notification ON / OFF

More information about this age group:

Children in this age group are likely to be absorbing messages from school about online safety and the digital environment, and be developing a basic understanding of privacy concepts and some of the more obvious online risks. They are unlikely however to have a clear understanding of the many ways in which their personal data may be used or of any less direct or obvious risks that their online behaviour may expose them to.

The need to fit in with their peer group becomes more important so they may be more susceptible to peer pressure. However home and family still tends to be the strongest influencer. They still tend to comply with clear messages or rules from home and school, but if risks aren’t explained clearly then they may fill the gap with their own explanations or come up with protective strategies that aren’t as effective as they think they are.

Proposed settings age 10 – 12

Items for sale No control / Notify / Approve

Items purchased No control / Notify / Approve

Monthly spending limit XXX

Local collection notification ON / OFF

Sale completed notification ON / OFF

More information about this age group:

This is a key age range in which children’s online activity is likely to change significantly. The transition, or anticipated transition, from primary school to secondary school means that children are much more likely to have their own personal device (pre-dominantly smartphones).

There is also likely to be a shift towards use of the online environment to explore and develop self-identity and relationships, expand and stay in contact with their peer group, and ‘fit in’ socially. This may lead to an increased use of social networking functions or services by children within this age range, an increased susceptibility to peer pressure, branding and online ‘influencers’, and an increase in risk taking behaviours. Self-esteem may fall as children compare themselves to others and strive to present an acceptable version of themselves online and the ‘fear of missing out’ may become a concern.

Online gaming and video and music streaming services are also popular. Children may feel pressurised into playing online games when their friends are playing, again for fear of missing out.

Attitudes towards parental rules, authority and involvement in their online activity may vary considerably, with some children relatively accepting of this and others seeking higher levels of autonomy. However parents and family still tend to be the main source of influence for children in this age range.

Children in this age range are moving towards more adult ways of thinking but may have limited capacity to think beyond immediate consequences, be particularly susceptible to reward based systems, and tend towards impulsive behaviours. Parental or other support therefore still tends to be needed, if not always desired. It may however need to be offered or encouraged in a less directive way than for younger children.

Children in this age range are developing a better understanding of how the online environment operates, but are still unlikely to be aware of less obvious uses of their personal data.

Proposed settings age 13 - 15

Items for sale No control / Notify / Approve

Items purchased No control / Notify / Approve

Monthly spending limit XXX

Local collection notification ON / OFF

Sale completed notification ON / OFF

More information about this age group:

In this age range the need for identification with their own peer group, and exploration of identity and relationships increases further and children are likely to seek greater levels of independence and autonomy. They may reject or distance themselves from the values of their parents or seek to actively flaunt parental or online rules. The use of new services that parents aren’t aware of or don’t use is popular as is the use of language that parents may not easily understand. However, despite this, family remains a key influence on children within this age range.

Children of this age may still look to parents to assist if they encounter problems online, but some may be reluctant to do so due to concerns about their parents’ reaction to their online activity.

Developmentally they may tend toward idealised or polarised thinking and be susceptible to negative comparison of themselves with others. They may overestimate their own ability to cope with risks and challenges arising from online behaviour and relationships and may benefit from signposting towards sources of support, including but not limited to parental support.

Proposed settings age 16 - 17

Items for sale No control / Notify / Approve

Items purchased No control / Notify / Approve

Monthly spending limit XXX

Local collection notification ON / OFF

Sale completed notification ON / OFF

More information about this age group:

By this age many children have developed reasonably robust online skills, coping strategies and resilience. However they are still developing cognitively and emotionally and should not be expected to have the same resilience, experience or appreciation of the long term consequences of their online actions as adults may have.

Technical knowledge and capabilities may be better developed than their emotional literacy or their ability to handle complex personal relationships. Their capacity to engage in long term thinking is still developing and they may still tend towards risk taking or impulsive behaviours and be susceptible to reward based systems.

Parental support is more likely to be viewed as one option that they may or may not wish to use, rather than as the preferred or only option, and they expect a reasonable level of autonomy. Signposting to other sources of support in addition to parental support is important.