How to Protect Your Child from Online Predators
We sometimes hear about sexual predators who abuse children of different ages. Those stories sound shocking and terrifying. But most of us think that it happens anywhere but in our neighborhood.
However, many cases of child sexual abuse go unreported. It makes it almost impossible for other children to identify the danger. It means that if a child becomes a victim of a predator, no one is likely to help. Therefore, parents need to be educated on how to protect children from predators.
It also applies to online predators who can attack your child even when you are watching TV in the next room.
What Is an Online Predator?
Before discussing ways to protect your child from the dangers of the Internet, let’s clarify the definition of a cyber-predator.
Online predators are primarily adults who seek out children for sexual, emotional, or psychological abuse. They choose and befriend children facing difficult emotional situations or problems within the family.
Predators thrive in online chat rooms, forums, and instant messaging apps to find and communicate with children. Online predators are usually between 18 and 55 and are primarily male.
Cyber predators slowly target their prey through attention and kindness. They spend more time listening to their problems, sharing hobbies, and playing the role of a caring friend.
They are very cunning, so they gradually establish a sexual relationship with a child, starting with a discussion about sex and ending with receiving explicit material from the victim. Finally, predators harass a child into sharing their nude photos and videos with others and pressure them to meet.
How To Protect Your Children From Online Predators: 5 Steps To A Safe Childhood
1. Teach Kids About Data Privacy
Chasing the desire to be popular on social media, kids often neglect the consequences of revealing their personal information online. As a parent, you must consider teaching your child how to protect their details on the Internet.
Check out these basic safety rules:
- Do not share your home address and phone number
- Consider using a nickname instead of your surname and real name
- Avoid sharing your location;
- Don’t text strangers
- Stop commenting on their posts for everyone but close friends
- Only follow links from people you know.
2. Be a Digital Parent
If you want to know what your child is doing online, consider joining their community. Create an account on Snapchat or Instagram and befriend your child. As their digital friend parent, you’ll see what they share online and who comments on their posts.
Moreover, you can sign up for educational channels and share links to interesting resources with your child.
3. Build Trusting Relationships
Children with close, trusting relationships with their parents are less likely to get into trouble. Establishing friendly and open communication with your son or daughter is key to safe and happy well-being.
Here are some tips on how to be a better parent to your child:
- Talk to your child as often as possible. Always discuss their problems as a friend and suggest a way out;
- Don’t scold them for making mistakes. It is natural if you want their life to be perfect. But it would help if you remembered that making mistakes is a part of human life.
- Give your children space and privacy, but keep an eye on them.
4. Talk about Safety in Chat Rooms
Parents need to educate children about safety in chat rooms, as online predators often use them to lure their victims. Explain to your child why he should never engage in private chats, especially those involving a video camera.
If your child wants to chat, they must be in public chat rooms with people they know. You can also remind them to follow the data safety tips from Step 1, described earlier in this article.
5. Use A Parental Control App
It is telling your children what they should and shouldn’t do. This is especially true of older children who protest against any rules set by their parents.
In this case, consider installing a parental control app on your child’s cell phone. A tool like NexaSpy can give you complete insight into your child’s online activity.
With the help of NexaSpy, you can:
- View sent and received messages
- View call logs
- Monitor social media apps ( Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, etc.)
- Track GPS locations
- View a list of visited websites
- Check connected Wi-Fi locations
Although NexaSpy can prevent your child from getting into trouble online, you need to remember that it is not a cure. Responsible parenting comes with a combination of education and supervision.
How Do I Prevent Online Predators From Contacting My Child?
Parents should be involved in kid’s online activities. However, they do not necessarily participate directly. As an option, adults can remotely monitor their children’s cell phones through a parental control app.
Using a monitoring tool like NexaSpy can benefit your child’s online safety. Once installed on your child’s phone, it allows you to view all chats on
- Snapchat
- LINE
- Viber
- Tinder
- And other apps
So, if an online predator is targeting your child, you will know about it and stop it before it is too late.
Moreover, NexaSpy can view contacts in your child’s phone book, view their call log details, record their cell phone screen remotely, and get keyword alerts when they use restricted words.
Conclusion
Keeping your child safe from online predators is super important. We’ve learned about online predators, how they work, and easy steps to protect your kids. Teach them about privacy, being a digital parent by joining their online world, building trust, discussing chat room safety, and considering using parental control apps like NexaSpy. These tools can help you monitor your child’s online activities, ensuring they stay safe. Remember, it’s all about a mix of teaching and watching out for our little ones in the online world. Stay informed, remain vigilant, and keep your child protected.
