A few days ago, a friend told me very worried about the situation she had recently experienced with her eight-year-old daughter. Apparently, a person who introduced himself as a child of the same age and city, had contacted her through the chat of an online game.
It is possible that, in fact, after the avatar you will find only one child with the same hobbies and concerns as my friend's daughter, and with an innocent desire to talk. But of course, when the mother of the little girl found out what was happening, she put her hands to her head.
How to make a child understand the importance of preserving their privacy when surfing the Internet? We share the keys of the experts.
Diego's story, a very real story
Campaign "Protect children from the dangers of the Internet". Via www.mapfre.com.pe The event that my friend lived with her daughter reminded me of the campaign carried out by Mapfre on the Internet dangers and how to protect children.
On this occasion, the protagonist of the story is a boy named Diego, who warns his parents that a new virtual friend wants to get in touch with him. Finally, his father ends up discovering that the supposed "friend" is nothing but a faker.
In Babies and more Before the risks of the internet, what kind of family are you?With this successful campaign, Mapfre wants to alert parents to the real dangers that exist on the Internet, as well as the importance of talking with our children about this issue, monitoring the contents, controlling screen time and installing parental controls.
Data that invite us to reflect
Internet, social networks, mobile phones and tablets are part of children's lives practically since they were born. They live surrounded by technology, and they see us with their cell phones in their hands at all hours, so it is not difficult to understand that they are attracted to all this.
Today, many babies are able to manipulate tablets and mobiles even before they start taking their first steps. They have access to parents' devices, with which they play, surf the Internet or access YouTube.In addition, according to statistics, almost 70 percent of children between the ages of ten and 15 have their own cell phone, and between the ages of 14 and 16, 90 percent have their own profile on social networks.
One of the main problems of Internet access without controls or filters by children and adolescents, is to fall into violent, pornographic or inappropriate age content. To this we must add the appearance of new phenomena such as' grooming, 'sexting', cyberbullyng, viral challenges or addictions.
How to address with our children the importance of privacy on the Internet?
Trust between parents and children is always essential, but especially when we talk about the Internet, as cases like the one I mentioned at the beginning or like the one represented in the Mapfre campaign could have been very different if the children had not told their Parents what they were living.
In Babies and more Five keys to control the use of mobile phones and tablets by childrenTherefore, Mapfre experts advise parents cultivate a relationship of trust with your children, speaking to them without taboos about the dangers of the Internet, and also taking into account these points:
- If your child uses social networks, make sure that Your profile is private and does not add anyone you do not know.
Being among your contacts is also an excellent way to monitor your activity on the Internet, as it allows us to control posts and followers, and give the alarm in case of detecting something that makes us suspect.
It is also important to control the time our children spend in front of the screen. Among the possible negative effects of prolonged exposure attention and behavior problems, language problems and addictions stand out.
Remind your child that it is very dangerous to spread and share photos with people he does not know, as well as to give information about his tastes, hobbies and lifestyle. Bringing this type of information to strangers can give clues to pedophiles to approach them.
Photos | iStock
