Hello, Chris Lawell coming to you again with a very important topic aimed specifically at parents. Today I would like to talk about the importance of protecting your children online from not only sexual predators but bullies as well. At one point cyber crimes were only targeted at older children. However as more young children use the internet on a regular basis they are becoming easy targets. For this reason you need to remain vigilant and protect your children the best you can. There are some very easy and simple to implement steps that I want to discuss today that could honestly save your child's life.
The most important step you can start doing as early as tonight is just to listen to and talk to your child about what they do online. If they talk about someone bullying them or acting overtly sexually, take the time to take it seriously. Don't worry that you may be over-reacting. The most important step is to just protect your child. Also carefully watch them as they are online and make note of any behavior changes. Please take your child's concerns seriously and don't pass it off as just fun. If you want to protect your children from internet predators and bullies the earlier you stop it, the better for your child.
Make sure that you have a plan implemented with your children in case they are contacted by any type of online predator. You want to make sure that your children open up to you by encouraging open communication with them. The more open minded and supportive you are, the more they will rely on you for support. Also you want to plan ahead, so that if your child ever receives a hurtful or overtly sexual message they know that they should not to respond to it. We will call this the "no-response" rule, instead they will forward any message like this directly to you or a trusted school teacher or official. When a child is prepared and has good support behind them they will be much better at handling these types of situations.
Also you have to know what your child is doing and that means getting on the computer as well. You want to be familiar with the type of sites your child is visiting. This can be done by checking the history of the sites your child visits. Also learn all the new abbreviations and lingo that are being used in chats. There are so many LMAO, ROFL's and BFF's it can be intimidating. However, it is important to know what your kids are speaking and if you want to protect them you'll need to figure out the lingo they use.
You need to set limits on the computer as well. Your child should not have free reign online at all times. You should not only set time limits but put the computer in an open area of the house. You don't want to watch over your child's shoulder all the time, but it is wise to be able to keep an eye on them. The more you monitor them the more likely you be able to stop any type of online harm. The most important thing to realize and understand is you need to set these limits and do it in a way that you are not invading your child's privacy.
Be sure to save any type of evidence as it may be needed down the road. This includes any screen names, chats, e-mails and pictures. This evidence is needed to not only identify the predator or bully but very useful when contacting the authorities. This evidence is important no matter the severity of the incident.
Make sure that you teach your child to be assertive and strong. Children who are shy and quiet tend to be bullied and picked out more often. Be certain to let them speak their minds and offer opinions on everything. Children who do this this have better coping skills and are able to stand on their own two feet.
Never stop educating your children about what can harm them. This not only includes bullying and predators but all the other dangers that are out there that children need to know about. Continue to include values and responsibility as important lessons in their life.
Lastly never assume your child is going to know what is right and wrong. We all hope our children will do the right thing or even just come to us, but it simply is not that perfect of a world. It is our job to make sure that we teach them how to become responsible young adults and teach them to do the right thing. It is not only our job but our responsibility to teach our kids about internet predators.
Finally, never allow your children to signup for anything with an email address or download any software or toolbars without your approval. These are easy ways for the child's and your personal information to be potentially compromised.
