Protect Your Child from Digital Threat: A Comprehensive Medical Reference for Researchers and Clinicians

The unprecedented expansion of digital technologies has fundamentally altered the environments in which children grow, learn, and socialise, presenting both remarkable opportunities and significant risks. Parental mediation has long been considered a primary line of defence in shielding children from media-related harms, and a substantial body of research has investigated the types, effectiveness, and cultural variability of parental strategies for managing children's online activities. Despite the breadth of scholarship in this area, the literature remains fragmented across disciplinary boundaries, with communication scholars, psychologists, legal academics, public health researchers, and child welfare practitioners each contributing partial accounts of a fundamentally interdisciplinary phenomenon. This narrative review synthesises evidence from peer-reviewed academic literature and authoritative international reports to examine the current state of child online protection across three interconnected domains: policy frameworks, parental mediation, and global strategies. A comprehensive search of major academic databases was conducted, incorporating literature published between 2000 and 2026, with foundational classic studies incorporated where their theoretical relevance was substantial. The review traces the evolution of theoretical models, including ecological systems theory, the differential susceptibility to media effects model, and parenting style frameworks, as applied to children's digital safety. It analyses dominant typologies of parental mediation, evaluates their comparative effectiveness, and discusses cultural and socioeconomic factors that moderate their impact. At the policy level, the review examines international instruments, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child's General Comment No. 25, the Council of Europe's Budapest Convention and Lanzarote Convention, and the European Union's Digital Services Act, alongside national legislative efforts. Global strategies are assessed through the lenses of multi-stakeholder governance, digital literacy education, and child rights-based approaches. The review identifies critical gaps, including the global digital divide, the inadequacy of existing frameworks to address artificial intelligence-generated harms, and persistent tensions between child protection and children's right to participate in digital life. It concludes by proposing a future research agenda oriented towards integrated, equity-sensitive, and rights-compliant strategies for child online safety. Future research should focus on developing integrated and interdisciplinary frameworks, enhancing cross-cultural evidence, addressing inequalities in digital access and protection, and responding to emerging challenges such as AI-generated risks while safeguarding children’s participatory rights online.