Advice and safety tips for Parents
Steps you can take to protect your child when they are out (Support for Parents)
Know who their friends are
When they say “I’m going out with a friend”, make sure you know who that friend is and how they know them. Get the contact information for their friends parent, to make sure they are going where they say they are going. Remind them that even though people they’ve met online might feel like friends, they may not be who they say they are.
Installing tracking apps
Thanks to their GPS function, such apps allow you to monitor your child's precise whereabouts and the battery level of his or her phone. Apps like Life360 Locator and GPS Phone Tracker are examples of tracking apps.
Teach your child the importance of their voice
Your child’s first line of defence is their voice. Anytime your child is in public and feels their safety is threatened, make sure they know to yell for help. Assailants understandably prefer not to attract attention to themselves.
Keeping your child safe on the internet
Technology has developed at such a pace that it feels like children understand more about it than parents do. This can put children in a vulnerable position, so it is important that as adults we do everything we can to educate and protect them. Here are some steps you can take to make sure your child is protected when using the internet
Home internet Filters
The majority of internet companies provide parental controls that can be turned on and off and adjusted at any point. Using this service can help to protect your child from accessing the darker site of the internet and accessing unsuitable content.
Avoid meeting online friends in person
Warn your child that, in today's world, criminals can find their prey via the Internet. Harmless online chats can make us vulnerable to dangerous individuals Your child must remember never to tell strangers, not even children, his/her phone number, address, or name. Nor should your little one send personal photos to online pals or tell them when and where he or she likes to hang out. And your child should always decline invitations to meet in person.
Reviewing apps, site, apps, and games they use
You will probably use social networks yourself, but you might want to know about new ones that your child is using or wants to use. Use them yourself and set up your own account so you can experience what your child might see.
How to protect your child on social media
Privacy settings
Spend time together with your child looking at the privacy settings. It’s always best to assume that default settings are public and should be changed accordingly. Private details which could identify them in the real world – name, age, gender, phone number, home address, school name, and photographs – should only ever be shared with people they know.
Establish an age limit for your child to start using social media
While you’re familiarizing yourself with what social media sites are out there, you should take a look at what the required minimum age is for each site. Most social media sites require users to be 13 or older to create an account without their parents’ permission, according to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
Never allow them to accept friend requests from people they do not know
This may be self-explanatory, but there are a lot of people out there who use social media to stalk people and steal their information to cause harm. It’s always best practice to only accept friend requests from people your child knows such as their friends and family.
Set ground rules for social media use
Have a conversation with your kids about what they're allowed to post, the accounts they follow and how often they'll be allowed to use social media. Lay out your ground rules as a team, and clearly communicate the penalties you decide on. They should know that there are consequences for their behaviour online, just like in the real world; if they mess up, they'll need to take responsibility and accept those consequences.
Consider products that help you monitor online activity
This may make you feel like you're looking over your child's shoulder, but the key is to keep up that open dialogue we mentioned: Communicate with your kids that your monitoring is safety-centered and go over the "how" and "why" of your actions. This way, you can stay on top of things without your kids feeling like you're reading their diary or invading every communication they have with their friends.
Products like Bark and Securly can make for a good monitoring middle ground. These tools can oversee your children's online activity, filter content and alert you if anything seems fishy—such as a stranger sending an inappropriate message that needs your attention, or a post that shows too much sensitive personal information.
How to Protect your Child from bullying
Know the warning signs
When a child becomes a victim of bullying, he is often reluctant to bring the problem to his parents or other adults who could help him. Parents must be tuned into their children’s behavior if they are going to recognize the warning signs that their child is being bullied. Some of those warning signs as the following:
A child comes home with missing or damaged personal items
The child begins taking a different route home from school
A child has few friends outside of school
The child frequently complains of physical ailments
A child seems depressed when she comes home from school
The child suddenly has difficulty sleeping
A child begins to perform poorly at school
Monitor their mobile phones
Kids who are getting bullied through the cell phone can get messages any time of the day or night. Late night texts can do more than torment victims; they can keep the child from getting much needed sleep. Sleep deprivation can make it that much more difficult for victims to deal with the situation. Set a curfew for cell phone use, and then leave the phone on the kitchen counter at night to ensure a good night’s rest.
Communicate
Parents have the difficult task of keeping lines of communication open with their children, even when the kids don’t want to share their live with their parents. That parental radar usually goes off for a reason. Parents need to listen to the warning signals and act on them when necessary by opening those communication lines even further.
Beware of certain online “Neighborhoods”
Just like you would not let your child hang out in dangerous neighborhoods in real life, there are dangerous “neighborhoods” on the internet where kids gather online. These social sites that feature little monitoring and becoming a nest of online bullying. Preventing your child accessing these websites can protect them from cyber bullying.
When your child is bullied
When you realize that your child has become a victim of a bully, it is important to take steps to protect your child, we suggest the following actions:
Let your children know they can go to an adult when they can’t handle the bully on her own
Address the issue promptly with the child’s teacher or the school principal
Encourage your child to spend time outside school with his immediate circle of friends to build self-esteem and confidence
Help your child develop positive skills in sports, martial arts, music or art
Urge your child to stick with friends at school, especially in situations when bullying is more likely
There are helplines you can contact, where trained professionals can talk through concerns with you and give expert advice. The NSPCC Helpline is: 0808 800 5000 or you can email them: help@nspcc.org.uk