The Child Safety Organisation, affiliated with the Sharjah Family and Community Council, has called on parents to closely supervise children’s use of smartphones, delivery applications and online shopping platforms, warning that digital convenience should not replace parental oversight.
In a public awareness message, the Child Safety Organisation stated that the delivery and shopping apps have become part of everyday family life, helping households manage food orders, shopping and daily services more efficiently.
However, it cautioned that children using such platforms independently may expose themselves to risks if clear family rules and supervision are not in place.
The Child Safety Organisation said that some children may order food, toys or products online without parental knowledge and attempt to receive deliveries themselves. It urged families to monitor these behaviors and ensure children understand that online purchases and home deliveries should only happen with adult approval.
The organisation stressed that its message is intended to help families adapt to changing digital habits among children rather than create fear around technology use.
Child Safety Organisation calls for clear household rules
The Child Safety Organisation advised parents to establish clear household rules governing children’s use of delivery and shopping apps, including requiring parental approval for purchases and ensuring a trusted adult is present when deliveries arrive.
It also recommended reviewing app settings on children’s devices, disabling saved bank card details and quick payment options where necessary, enabling purchase notifications and using parental control tools suited to children’s ages.
The organization further urged families to reinforce a clear safety rule that children should not open the door to delivery personnel or strangers without adult permission or supervision.
Parents were also encouraged to teach children not to share home addresses, phone numbers or personal information through apps or digital conversations without direct family approval.
Hanadi Saleh Al Yafei Director-General – Sharjah Child Safety Organisation
“Apps now allow children to make quick decisions that previously passed through the family, such as buying, paying, entering an address and dealing with someone from outside the home. The issue is not only how children use apps, but also what they order or receive, and whether they are given privileges before they have the awareness and experience to manage them safely. Supervision does not mean preventing children from using technology or treating them with suspicion. It means creating safe and clear boundaries between what a child can do independently and what should remain under adult oversight. ”
Al Yafei added that, “Delivery and ordering services are part of daily family life, but when children use them, parents should supervise both the order itself and the way it is received. At the Child Safety Organisation, we focus on helping families keep pace with these new daily realities. Children need to understand that privacy, payment details, home addresses and digital services are responsibilities that require awareness, maturity and age-appropriate supervision. The safest approach is to introduce children gradually to the digital world, as delaying smartphone use remains one of the most effective ways to protect them and build their digital awareness.”
The Child Safety Organisation asserted that protecting children in the digital age requires balanced guidance, clear boundaries and gradual digital education to help children develop safer online habits at home and beyond.
