Are you a parent who has a teenager who uses the internet? If you are, you probably don’t realize how much trouble your teenager can get into online. They can get into lots of trouble especially on sites where they speak with friends, for example Facebook or MySpace. Your child may unintentionally fall victim to a child predator online or they may be harassed by those that they know online. would you even know if your child became a victim?
I will write few articles about that topic.
For your convenience, there are four signs that your teenager may be in trouble online. You will want to take action right away, if any of these signs apply to your child.
1 They Get on the Computer at the Same Time Everyday
Teenagers and children can easily become targets of online child predators, many parents don’t realize this. A predator can groom their victim over a long period of time, it doesn’t happen overnight. Some child predators pretend to be the ages of their targets. They groom their targets gaining their trust before they try to arrange a physical meeting. This process can take some time but if they persuasive he can take as little as a few days. You may be able to tell if this is happening though if your child gets on the internet at the same time, every single day. This is a good sign that they are communicating directly with someone, who may not have pure intentions.
2 Your Child Uses the Computer Without You Knowing
How does your child act when they are using the computer? Does your child try to hide what they are doing online from you? If they close down their computer or hide away their screen, this is a telltale sign that they are doing something that they shouldn’t be. They could be having personal conversations with a complete stranger, the stranger could be a child predator so watch out for these signs.
3 They Seem To Be Happier Than Normal After They’ve Been On The Internet
Your child may think they have found a new friend, being all that happy after talking to this person is a tell tale sign and can lead to big trouble. Spotting this sign is not as easy as you think. You can never tell why your child is happy, maybe they had a good day at school or finished off some school work that should have been handed in. Your teenager may be chatting to a friend in a chat room, they may be contemplating getting together with this person which would obviously make them happy. Unfortunately, many teenagers do not realize that anyone can hide behind a computer. This is one of the reasons why you should keep an eye on your child, and even talk to them about what could happen and the dangers of meeting someone online.
4 Your Child May Seem Depressed
As previously stated, your child may be very happy when using the internet, but another warning sign is that they are depressed, especially when they sign off the computer. What many parents do not realize is that other teenagers use the internet for harassment. If your teenager has a falling out with one of their friends, they may find themselves being harassed online. If that has happened, they may seem withdrawn or depressed.
All the signs are just a few of the pressures your child could be under, so make sure you keep an eye on them and stop any harassment as soon as you can.
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While parents should always watch for changes in behavior when their children are using the computer. They also need to become more knowledgeable about the dangers online and start teaching their kid’s early on about how to safely use the computer.
My wife and I are members of a holistic website that provides parents and educators with the resources to learn about online dangers and protect their children.
One of the first things we did was purchase basic blocking software so when our children are online they don’t inadvertently access pornography, or other inappropriate websites. We found this very helpful and combined this with spending time with our children and teaching them about how to safely navigate the Internet.