Are the parent of a child or teenager whouses the interenet? As much as we wouldall like to believe that are children are safe when using the internet, thereare certain situations that may, unfortunately, arise. It is important to remember that mostchildren use the internet to communicate with their friends or to make newfriends, not just to do research for school projects. If your child finds themselves in troubleonline and comes to you, do you know what you can or should do?
As it was previously stated, numeroussituations can develop online that have the potential to be dangerous. One of those situations is when personalinformation is exchanged with a stranger. Has your child recently given away your phone number, address, or theiremail address to someone who they don�t really know?
If so, be sure to change as muchinformation as possible. This mayinvolve changing your home phone number or your child�s cell phone number oremail address. Be sure to takeadditional safety steps, such as always being aware of your surroundings,locking your home and car, and you may also want to contact your localauthorities. Be sure to talk to yourchild about the dangers of exchanging personal information online.
In keeping with exchanging personalinformation online, your child may end up talking to an adult, thinking thatthey are another teenager or close to their age. If that is the case, your child is likelydealing with an internet predator, who can be old enough to be a parent or agrandparent.
If your child has made contact,intentionally or unintentionally, with an older person online, has any personalinformation been exchanged? If so,change that information, like your child�s email address, cell phone, or evenif your home phone number. Make surethat the contact stops immediately. Contact the authorities, school officials, and make sure that all familymembers know. Get as much informationyou can about the real person behind the computer. The police may be able to help you do so.
Many high school and junior high schoolstudents use social networking websites, like MySpace. Unfortunately, many also mistakenly believethat it is a good idea to try to look �cool,� online and at any cost. Your child may post pictures or videos ofthemselves online doing illegal activities, like smoking or drinking underage,stealing, or doing drugs.
If this is something that your child hasdone, be sure to remove the pictures or videos right away. If your child�s pictures or videos have beenviewed by school officials or authorities, they may be facing punishment. A lawyer should be called if your child isarrested. If your child is suspendedfrom school or extra curricular activities, speak to school officials. What can be done by both you, the parent, andyour child?
Online harassment is another common problemthat children, namely junior high school and high school students face. This harassment can be done by a completestranger, an online friend, or a friend right at school. When friends have a falling out or even justa simple disagreement, many turn to the internet to seek revenge, as it is easyto hide behind a computer.
If your child finds themselves a victim ofonline harassment, the authorities should be contacted. This is particularly important if your childdoes not actually know, in person, the individual who is making threats orspreading harmful rumors. If theindividual doing so is a former friend or another individual at school, thereare a number of steps that you can take. If you know the child and their parents, consider arranging a meeting,but be cautious and use your best judgment. Alternatives involve contacting the authorities or the school.
As you can see, there are a number oftroubling and potentially dangerous situations that your child can findthemselves in online. Just make surethat you, as the parent, take steps to help and protect your child.
