A girl on the sofa with a tablet, her dad beside her
Home

Pre-teens10 to 14

The dangers turn inward, and online.

The five biggest risks

This is where self-harm hospitalisations begin to climb: 31 per 100,000 under 15, against 256 per 100,000 at 15 to 19.

  1. Self-harmBedroom, bathroomAn open, non-judgemental line. Presence beats surveillance.
  2. CyberbullyingWherever the phone isLearn the signs and the eSafety reporting tools together.
  3. Lost sleepBedroomAgree device and sleep rules together. Phones out of bedrooms overnight.
  4. Medicines and alcoholKitchen, bathroomLock them away.
  5. Hidden distressWhole homeWatch for withdrawal or sleep change. Distress often shows before words.

Sources: AIHW, Suicide and self-harm monitoring: young people 2023–24; AIFS, Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (2021). Prevention advice: eSafety Commissioner. All ages side by side: by age.

Make it safe for pre-teens

Room checks, guides and gear for this stage.

Online safety Someone to talk to Get help, any hour Lock medicines away Bathroom check Living areas Worried about a child First aid courses

Your safety calendar

Each safety job for your child, on the day it falls due.

Open the calendar

Medicines, locked

Up, locked, and the Poisons line saved in your phone.

Read the post

First aid kits, reviewed

What a good home kit holds, and what to skip.

See the reviews

Get a reminder at each new stage

Add your child's birthday and the calendar lays out every safety job as it falls due: the cot, the gates, the pool, the booster seat. Save it to your phone's calendar. Nothing is sent to us.

Emergency 000 Poisons 13 11 26

Your safety calendar Free. Works for more than one child. Set up my calendar Compare every age