Protecting Kids Online

Back in my day, this was not an issue because the internet was not a familiar concept to every child or adult. But it is a big part of our world now and a great tool for helping us in numerous ways. Along with that comes the part of society who have also logged on to find easy prey. They have always been around and have just found another way to manipulate.

As scary as that is, we have to realize the best way to handle this is to arm our kids with knowledge. Many parents assure there is no computer in bedrooms. Instead it is placed more centrally like in a kitchen or dining room area where others will be close by to monitor what our young ones are viewing. While that is great, we as parents are not always available to keep an eye on this.

So we have to tell our kids what kind of search they are limited to and place parental locks on sites that are meant for adults. But somehow they end up on sites that seem innocent but still have groomers lurking who can lure your child into a place of false trust. I came across one recently and it was a gaming chat room. In fact, any place kids congregate online, there is that danger since we do not know who they are really talking to.

These low life individuals tend to know how to make themselves sound like another kid. What could be more attractive to another child than that? To fight this, spend time looking at privacy standards on sites and apps your child uses. Have that talk about private body parts and never letting anyone touch them. Teach them to keep all personal information private and ensure they know what that means.

Most of all, have a few people they can contact if they are suspicious about what someone did or said. Encourage them to be assertive and to always tell the truth. Lastly, do not let them ever join someone they met online. My heart goes out to you as this is a difficult world to navigate for parents and kids alike. Please be careful.