Be aware of potentially dangerous online trends & keep your children safe

There have been recent reports from some students in our district about disturbing content they have been exposed to online. This content is disguised as children’s programming and allegedly encourages children to carry out dangerous tasks, such as harming others.

Our district’s Safe Schools department has been made aware of these reports and is working with the appropriate authorities to investigate. Such reports serve as an important reminder of online safety in today’s digital world.

Being aware of potentially harmful online trends and explaining them to your children in an age-appropriate way is very important. Often, these discussions take place at school, and we encourage parents and guardians to continue these conversations at home. Making your home a safe space to talk about these things will help ensure your children feel comfortable bringing their questions and concerns forward.

Our district has a fact sheet on Internet Safety that may be useful in your discussions with your child. This resource is also available in Punjabi and Chinese.  

Some tips include:

• Make sure the protection features of websites and software your children use are activated. There are tools available through your Internet Service Provider (ISP) to help you manage your children's online experience (i.e. appropriate websites, amount of time spent online, who can and cannot contact them). It might also include other security features, such as pop-up ad blockers.
• Get to know the online environments, websites and apps your children use and teach them how to deal with inappropriate material.
• Keep an eye on the sites they're visiting by keeping computers and other devices in a common area like the kitchen.
• Talk to them about the implications of posting inappropriate pictures, saying disparaging things about other people and anything else that could damage a reputation, ruin a friendship, or even be illegal.
• Remind them that the Internet is a public space. Things they do and say now on social networking sites could have implications down the road, such as when they're looking for a summer job (employers often search personal profiles for information about candidates).
• If your child is using live text and voice chats for online games, warn them not to give personal information to a stranger.

There are some additional tips at www.cybertip.ca and www.prevnet.ca.