How to Protect Your Child from Strangers and Online Predators

1. How to Protect Your Child from Strangers and Online Predators There are huge chances that your child will never be a victim of an Online Predator. But it doesn’t mean that your kid or you should be naïve. The reality is scary but the kids need to be smart in such a world. You need to protect them from talking to strangers. We live in such a world where networking is a priority. The places for children getting encountered with strangers online are increasing and becoming more complex. Online services and people are generally faceless. Hence it creates a problem to identify a predator amongst others. Children are at a very vulnerable age; hence they might build a relationship and develop trust with the people whom they talk online with. They might not even disclose their true identity. Predators are well aware of such opportunities. Parents are required to talk to their kids about such circumstances. As a part of parenting, you need to tell your kids about strangers, and online predators. You need to prepare your kid for how they can be affected by predators. Patterns of Online Predators Online Predators usually follow certain behavioral tricks to find the kids. As parents, you need to be aware of some of these tendencies. Generally, the online predators will tend to:

2. 1. Find the Location of the Kids With the advancement in technology, they try to find the location of the kids and try to interact with them. 2. Search Profiles Online The profiles on social media usually contain all the information like Photos, videos, their gender, age, and many personal details. The kids who provide a detailed profile are giving predators the opportunity to look for the information they are looking for. 3. Seduce or Harass Online Predators try to grab the attention and affection of the kids. They try to track the kids and even send them gifts.

3. 4. Learn about the Kid’s Interest Predators will know about various opportunities like their interests, liking, disliking, their favourite movie, or videos.

4. 5. Be their Friend The predators will try to listen to the problems of the kids in order to gain attention. They try to sympathize with the problems of the kids.

5. 6. Gradually Introduce Sexual Content The predators will gradually start introducing a sexual conversation, photos, and videos making the kid uncomfortable. 7. Evaluate They start evaluating which kids could fall for the trap and will attempt to meet them in person. How to Minimize the Risk to your Kids There are various steps to take with your kids. Let us discuss some of the major steps to be taken: 1. Talk to your kids about online strangers and predators It is a tough topic to talk about but you cannot ignore it. When you talk to the kids about strangers, you need to tell them that the strangers exist in both real as well as online worlds. Also Read, Could your Kids be Chatting with Strangers Online? 2. Secure your devices and network with parental control apps You must use parental control apps for all the devices like mobile, computers, etc.

6. 3. Block the websites according to the age limits You must check the age limit for every social site since every networking website allows kids above the age of 13 years to use it. 4. Don’t allow children to use chat rooms, and message boards You must be aware of what social networks, groups, and chat rooms your kid is involved in. Adolescents are curious to use every new application that can be harmful to them. 5. Don’t respond to strangers You need to teach your kids to beware of strangers and not respond to everyone. Tips kids should know and follow to avoid predators and strangers Here are some general tips required to be known by the kids to protect themselves from online dangers 1. Kids should be able to discuss their problems with some adults. You need to build a trusting and loving bond with the child so that they can pour their heart out. 2. If the kids see something uncomfortable online, they should inform someone immediately. 3. Kids should never reveal their personal information online like their name, gender, or any other personal information. 4. Kids should inform the parents if someone is asking for any personal information. What to do if the Child is Targeted Thinking about the safety of your child is of utmost importance. Some serious steps should be taken: 1. Contact Law Enforcement The local law enforcement team is well-trained to deal with online predators. You should never be afraid of contacting them. They support you and help your family. 2. Monitor Communications Monitoring any type of digital communications like chat rooms, instant messaging, social networks, email, etc. will be of great help. 3. Check Devices for any Sexual Communication You must check the computers, laptops, smartphones, and other gaming devices for any type of sexual content. These are the biggest warning signs to protect your child.

7. 4. Save Evidence If you find any objectionable content in your child’s phone, you must save the content for evidence. You can pass the evidence to the local law enforcement immediately. To Sum Up Teens are generally at a higher risk from online predators since they are vulnerable and curious t explore, even if they are aware of how dangerous the situation is. You must reach out to your kids and see if they are talking to strangers. You must teach them to safeguard themselves.