In a previous POST, I had talked about how to identify if your child is in
trouble online, or might be getting stressed due to his or her lifestyle on the internet.
We might want to believe that the internet is as safe a place as can be, but for children,
or far that matter, the less learned, it can turn out to be quite a nuisance. Here, we
talk about what should one do incase, inspite all the precautions, your child has run into
trouble online.
In the previous article, I had stated that there could be various situations where
your child could get caught in. One of them was sharing personal information with
strangers on the internet. Has your child recently given away your adress, email or postal,
or your phone number to someone they dont know?
If this has happened, make sure to change most information as much as possible. This might
involve changing your home phone number, your child’s phone number or email address. Be
sure to take additional steps, such as being aware of things around you, securing your
car and home, and if required, getting in touch with local authorities.
Make it a point to talk to your child about dangers of exchanging information online.
If your child has made contact, intentionally or otherwise, has any personal information
been exchange? If so, change all means of communication and make sure that all contact
stops immediatly. Contact school officials, authorities and make sure all family members
know. Get as much information as you can about the person behind the computer, something
that the authorities can help you with.
For school children, posting of videos where they are doing daring things, like taking
drugs or alchohol could be posted online, as a part of “looking cool”. For this they might
already be facing trouble by the school authorities. If you find out about any such thing,
make sure you take it off the internet immediatly and get in touch with a lawyer if your
child is arrested.
Another common problem is online harassment. This could be done by a stanger, an
aquaintence, or someone right from school with whom your child may have had a fallout.
The reason for this is simple; it becomes very easy to hide behind a computer.
If your child finds themselves as a victim, its time to contact the authorities.
This becomes more important when your child does not know the person making threats.If
the person is a former friend or someone from school, there are a number of things that
you can do. You could arrange a meeting, be cautious and use your judgement. An alternative
could be getting in touch with school authorities.
As one can see, the internet could turn out to be anything but safe for your child. Your
duty as a parent is to make sure that you take steps and keep your child safe online.
In a previous post , I had talked about how to identify if your child is in trouble online, or might be getting stressed due to his or her lifestyle on the internet.
We might want to believe that the Internet is as safe a place as can be, but for children, or far that matter, the less learned, it can turn out to be quite a nuisance. Here, we talk about what should one do incase, inspite all the precautions, your child has run into trouble online.
In the previous article about your child addiction to the Internet, I had stated that there could be various situations where your child could get caught in. One of them was sharing personal information with strangers on the internet. Has your child recently given away your adress, email or postal, or your phone number to someone he doesn’t know?
Make it a point to talk to your child about dangers of exchanging information online. If your child has made contact, intentionally or otherwise, has any personal information been exchanged? If so, change all means of communication and make sure that all contact stops immediatly. Contact school officials, authorities and make sure all family members know.
For school children, posting of videos where they are doing daring things, like taking drugs or alchohol could be posted online, as a part of looking cool. If you find out about any such thing, make sure you take it off the internet immediatly and get in touch with a lawyer if your child is arrested.
Another common problem is online harassment or better known as cyber bullying. This could be done by a stanger, an acquaintance, or someone right from school with whom your child may have had a fallout. The reason for this is simple; it becomes very easy to hide behind a computer.
If your child finds themselves as a victim, its time to contact the authorities. This becomes more important when your child does not know the person making threats. If the person is a former friend or someone from school, there are a number of things that you can do. You could arrange a meeting, be cautious and use your judgement. An alternative could be getting in touch with school authorities.
As one can see, the internet could turn out to be anything but safe for your child. Your duty as a parent is to make sure that you take steps and keep your child safe online.
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