Always Be Aware of Whom to Call

 Always Be Aware of Whom to Call

Modern technology, especially the Internet, has made it so that children from the preteen years all the way into their teens seldom ever play with toys anymore. Even young children have access to video games on their computers and the Internet, which they frequently use as an alternative to spending time playing with their peers. Yes, times have changed, and nowadays, kids would rather chat online than in person.

Kids can have fun on computers and the Internet, but there are risks at every "corner" of the web, from legitimate game sites to extreme porn sites that appear with a single mouse click. Sites like Friendster and MySpace draw a lot of young people, but they're also a sanctuary for cyberbullies and other predators seeking naive, defenseless targets, especially youngsters.

Finding the right balance between letting your child explore the Internet and protecting them from its potential perils is an important responsibility for any parent. Having said that, it is reasonable for a child to be deceitful and secretive at times.

Even when the youngster is merely putting himself or herself at risk by lying on the Internet, there is limited action a parent may take when their child does this. You, as a parent, need to know who to contact if you've tried everything to keep your child safe online and they're still having problems.

When a child is victimized by online predators, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is often the organization that takes up the case. Maybe the offender sent or authorized the youngster to watch sexual images or videos.

The aforementioned organization will assist your child in coping with the reality that this will have a great deal of psychological impact. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has a hotline that can be reached at 1-800-843-5678.

Calling the site owners or operators and providing the perpetrator's username (if you have it) can be an option if the incident happened on a social networking site like MySpace or Friendster. Since it is accessible from any computer in the world, even in nations without laws dealing with this, it may be a long shot, but you could still give it a go because the social media sites could at least ban the user.

Notifying the appropriate authorities is an absolute necessity in the event that any sexual act, illegal action, or suspicious behavior takes place. The perpetrator may not be able to victimize more children if the authorities succeed in capturing him. The police are also very skilled with contemporary technology, which allows them to apprehend criminals either while they are committing a crime or immediately before it occurs.

Notifying your internet service provider is equally crucial. You can ask your ISP to restrict specific websites and inform them to inform their other customers if someone leads your youngster into visiting a dubious one. In this approach, the impact of the dubious website is substantially mitigated.

Sharing your story with other parents who are dealing with or will face the same issue of their child spending too much time online is a great way to get the word out and get assistance from organizations like social services and law enforcement.

Parents of your child's classmates, friends, and club members should be warned about the risks of the Internet and how to protect their children from being exploited if your child becomes a victim. This will greatly contribute to resolving an issue that impacts the entire planet.

Notify the schools as well, starting with the one where your child is enrolled. Pep talks about Internet safety, how to handle dubious situations, etc., can be delivered in schools. When parents are unable to reach their children, schools often step in.

Child exploitation via the Internet is a global problem, and knowing who to call will certainly help address it.

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