The other day my son received an invitation to Facebook group called XXX Primary School (XXX standing for the school name) from a school friend.  My son is very cyber aware, I receive a copy of all of his e-mails, as a result this was intercepted quickly.  I spoke with the parent of the owner of the group and suggested that it be renamed to something more difficult for predators to find and join.  I did another search and found 3 other similar groups.

What groups are your children members of?  Can predators quickly identify them?

Speaking with other parents about this, they suggested we contact the Principal and get them to stop these groups.  That of course is impossible, we are talking about the internet after all.

The only way to protect our children and deal with this type of thing is awareness and to educate the parents and then the children.  We cannot leave the protection of our children with the schools.  We as parents have to take responsibility, responsibility to educate ourselves, only then are we in a position to coach and work with our children. 

I trust my Son totally, it is the other people on the Internet I don;t and can;t trust.  I teach my Son “Cyber Karate” so he can defend himself.  I trust him and teach him to be aware of what is out there.

Summary:-

• Check the government site
• The internet is dangerous
• Schools cannot be left with responsibility of protecting our children
• Hide your kids on the internet
• Parents must get educated
• Parents must get involved in their children’s internet usage
• Teach your kids “Cyber Karate”
• Don;t leave them alone with computers, work together in a communal area

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