The head of school security, “Stop the Threat” Leah Sharov explains how to protect your child from Internet threats.
Photo: Unsplash
- “You think I’m a maniac?” – train your children before it’s too late
- Children on the Internet: 4 the main danger and how to protect themselves from them
- “Cosmore” – online bullying has become the norm for teenagers
- “Fixies” or drugs that are looking for kids online
- You see, as a child, beaten on the street – what to do
1. Install a monitoring program as early as possible while your child is 5-10 years
Leah Sharova
To think about protecting the network it is better to start early. System parental controls can be installed on all devices used by the child, years 6-7. This trick will not work with 12-the summer teenager, it will react defensively to any restrictions. And if the child initially uses a secure Internet, and he especially does not come to mind to try to find something forbidden, or if they come, then much later.
All parents are afraid of pedophiles, wirausaha in trust with a fake (or even their) pages, and pornography, which the child may accidentally access, typing in a search engine, for example, the name of the disney Princess.
But besides these dangers of unprotected Internet can easily get information about drugs, gambling, online casino groups with suicidal contents, radical religious communities. Try it now type in search engine “buy spice” and look at the result.
2. Friends!
Sarantites with the child in all social networks, talk with him at all!!! and versapak where he communicates with his friends send him links to pictures and pictures, do not criticize the content of the pages and pages of his friends.
Let the child know that you are not his enemy space, from which you want to hide all the fun.
Photo: Unsplash
Do not assume that closing the laptop, the child can solve problems encountered in its virtual companies. For most children what happens to them in online communication, more important than the relationship with classmates. And most are not telling parents about the bullying, nor quarrels, nor about the complexities in the network, because they are sure that parents will not understand or even forbidden to access the Internet.
Encourage the frankness of a child, the interest of his favorite music, poems, books and even games. Sooner or later your patience and attention is sure to be rewarded with trust.
3. Teach children to remove from its pages all the personal information not to share Frank discussions in personal correspondence, not to spread and not to send your photos
Even if the child page there is no telephone, the school’s number and other contact information, it gives links to other social networks where you can learn much more. Now a standard set of social networks like: Vkontakte, instagram, ask.fm and viber or votsap. Ask.fm, for example, you can ask any question, often anonymously, and the kids answer all questions thoroughly and with great enthusiasm.
And, of course, show an example: on your page in the social network as there should be no phones, no geo-location bindings to the pictures, no clickable links on the page your children.
Any scammer can easily gain the confidence of your child, using your page, where you can find photos of interiors, for example, or a detailed photo report from vacation and the names of colleagues and relatives.
4. Let checks on everyone with whom
Encourage your child to think that each new virtual friend, you must first call in Skype or any other video chat, and only then begin to share something personal.
At our training sessions the children build theories about how they will be able to distinguish the real from the phony page the, the real interlocutor of the same age from the maniac, and believe me, many of them can’t think that this is impossible.
Caution talk about the age of virtual friends.
In our training we ask Teens, one of them have virtual friends over the age of 25. Almost all raise their hands and I don’t see the threat.
On the contrary, many were flattered by the attention of adults, they are quite easy to make contact, especially if the adult is “not like everyone else, and truly understands me”.
The key to the confidence of a child is more likely to be community. According to our statistics, the teen is almost guaranteed to friend you, and start trusting contact with the person, if he is the same important for the child’s community in the social network. And friendship with the organizer or someone from the administration of gaming groups or interest groups – is especially cool.
Photo: Unsplash
5. Properly organize our first meeting
Be sure to tell your child that won’t mind his meetings with new friends in reality, but only on the condition that you will be able to speak with the parents of this new virtual friend.
No “to go home”, no “Dating for a couple of minutes from the nearest metro station”.
Only after you personally talk with the mom or dad of a new friend of your child, you together decide where and when your children will meet in real life.
Of course, mastering these rules is not a matter of one day. But even if your child is already taller than you half a head and talking bass or carries your lipstick, it doesn’t mean to change the situation later. At least sarantitis, become aware and gradually become part of the online communication each other at any time.