PROTECTING OUR BABIES
This is for any parent, aunty, uncle, big brother or sister.
It has come to my attention that young kids have been playing a game called “BLUE WHALE” which is an online game where children are told to complete one self harm challenge per day for 50 days ..... where to win the game you must commit suicide.
It’s easy to just read this and dismiss it thinking 'my kid knows better’ but please, please take precaution anyway.
It has come to my attention that young kids have been playing a game called “BLUE WHALE” which is an online game where children are told to complete one self harm challenge per day for 50 days ..... where to win the game you must commit suicide.
It’s easy to just read this and dismiss it thinking 'my kid knows better’ but please, please take precaution anyway.
Over 100 children in Russia fell victim to this game, and the game is now going global.
There are also videos on youtube which tell young children that to become a “fairy” they must turn their oven on at night while everyone is sleeping and let the ‘magical gas” fill the house. They are told not to tell any adults or the magic won’t work.
There are paedophiles who make fake pages online to groom younger children not to mention the horrible cyber bullying that happens everyday.
It's obvious that there are plenty of sick people out there who have put these videos/games/pages in place for the specific purpose of hurting our babies. Being the eldest grandchild of 15 this is something I feel very strongly about. The safety of our children is NOT something to take lightly.
Being the eldest child of a young Samoan father meant I was watched like a Hawk ..… but even then I found a way to get onto the internet.
SO PARENTS… I am about to become your Childs #1 ENEMY! Because I’m about to tell you all our secrets – well mine.
- DO NOT ban your TEENAGER (notice I didn’t say child, because little children shouldn’t even be on social media, they should be climbing trees) from Social Media, 1 because it will cause them to go behind your back to create them, thus ruining any chance of you monitoring their social media. It’s always better for them to do it in front of you than behind your back
- PRIVATE BROWSING, Parents there is an option on any internet browser to use a “Private Browsing” tab – which will delete any history of what they were on, at what time etc.
TIP – if you have an iPhone / iPad / iPod the browser boarder will be dark grey instead of white.
e.g Image 1 – Normal browsing
Image 2 - Private browsing
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- If you think your child could be using sites that are not prohibited by you behind your back, you can block certain sites from your browser.
- This process may vary with different browsers or devices, but there are plenty tutorials on youtube that I have used myself on my little cousins devices.
- I will probably be hated the most for this one … BUT there are apps called SAFE apps where you can save pictures, videos etc with a password.
- Here are a few of them … Beware of the red calculator as it it's obviously disguised as the usually ORANGE calculator app that most of us will have on our apple devices. So remember if it isn’t ORANGE – it is really a “safe” app.
- EDUCATE YOUR CHILDREN ON INTERNET SAFETY – Contrary to your Childs belief THEY DO NOT KNOW A DAMN THING!
- Sit them down, tell them how easy it is to be tricked online & if they roll their eyes slap the taste out their mouth because this is NOT something to be taken lightly.
- There are plenty of videos you can show them that may make them think twice about what they do online – for older kids 15-16 or younger I definitely recommend showing them this social experiment video:
NOW – keeping these all in mind, the best way to ensure your Childs safety at the end of the day starts with your relationship with your child. You can do all the things mentioned and more but still come up short if your child does not feel like they can come to you with absolutely anything.
SO heres my advice from the entitled millennial with no children – TALK TO YOUR KIDS!
Make your home a judgement FREE zone. Have the kind of relationship where your kid/brother/sister can feel that they could tell you anything without being judged or yelled at.
Now I’m a big advocate for tough love – hell I’m a product of it … but be gentle with your babies.
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By: Destiny Momoisea