Guilford Police Urge Internet Safety Awareness for Parents

Shared by the Guilford Police Department on Facebook and completely written by the Police Department

The internet can be a blessing and your worst nightmare. As a parent trying to navigate the fine line of allowing your child some freedom and protecting them from the ticking time bomb of the dangers on the internet, you have to be not only savvy, but remain one step ahead of the internet game.

Many parents don’t think that their child could be victimized by someone on the internet; that their child is too smart to fall for that trap. It doesn’t matter how smart your child is, there is someone constantly out there grabbing at your child from inside that phone, laptop or tablet. It only takes one time for that child to answer the person in the “internet van” offering free puppies and candy.

There is a growing force that that is present on the internet that many of us do not know about. This internet is focused on child pornography, human trafficking and drugs, to name a few. This deep dark web has thousands of predators that are out there phishing for your kids with offers of video game codes, reassurance that they are beautiful, someone offering to chat, etc.

We can’t emphasize enough that, as parents, awareness of what is out there is key. Once you are aware, the next step is to be involved. There are many places you can find information on the internet to learn about internet safety and we have listed a few here.

Talk to your kids about the internet. Have they ever been contacted by a stranger offering them something or just trying to chat? Have they received strange calls where someone has asked how old they are? Have they received unusual texts or images from strangers? Have they been cyberbullied? What was their response? This conversation will open the door of communication on the dangers of the internet. Use it to your advantage and have an open dialogue about how to best handle these situations. Set up some internet safety planning with your children to help them deal with these issues down the road when you might not be there.

Some have asked us how early this type of talk should occur. If your child is using a cell phone, gaming devices or on the internet... start the conversation. Years ago the anti-bullying programs started in middle school. After significant research it was determined that the program should be started in pre-school because middle school children were already immersed in the bullying culture, making it difficult to combat. Once the programming started with toddlers, the success rate dramatically increased. This is the same idea with internet safety.... Start when they are young and develop good internet safety habits from the beginning.

• https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/15-apps-and-websites-kids-are-heading-to-after-facebook
• https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/9-social-media-red-flags-parents-should-know-about
• https://www.commonsensemedia.org/
• http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2016/02/12/dont-let-your-teenager-next-kik-victim/80224942/
• http://www.nw3c.org/training/online-training/105
• http://www.internetsafety101.org/

We hope this helps and thank you for sharing!