As a parent and/or teacher you are probably trained to start
forbidding your children from chatting with strangers. Hence, many
teachers are concerned with teaching their pupils not to chat with
strangers, in particular strangers online. While it is easier to
convince younger children not to, teenagers will likely resist a ban on
chatting with online strangers from their life. This situation has to be
handled with diplomacy, with plenty of opportunity to discuss the
issues and inherent dangers without arousing either their curiosity or
sense of rebellion in doing something they have been told not to do.
The following mnemonic might be of SMART help, when talking to your children/pupils:
S for “safe”: Be careful what personal information you give out to people you do not know.
M for “meeting”: Take precautions when meeting up with people you have only chatted to online. Tell someone where and when the meeting is due to take place. Stay in public places and do not agree to anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.
A for “accepting”: Be careful when accepting attachments and information from people you do not know they may contain upsetting messages or viruses.
R for “reliable”: Always check if information is from someone reliable; remember some people may not be who they say they are.
T for “tell”: Always tell a trusted adult if something or someone online is making you worried or upset.
For further information have a look at the SMART Crew guidance and activities, developed by Childnet International.
The following mnemonic might be of SMART help, when talking to your children/pupils:
S for “safe”: Be careful what personal information you give out to people you do not know.
M for “meeting”: Take precautions when meeting up with people you have only chatted to online. Tell someone where and when the meeting is due to take place. Stay in public places and do not agree to anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.
A for “accepting”: Be careful when accepting attachments and information from people you do not know they may contain upsetting messages or viruses.
R for “reliable”: Always check if information is from someone reliable; remember some people may not be who they say they are.
T for “tell”: Always tell a trusted adult if something or someone online is making you worried or upset.
For further information have a look at the SMART Crew guidance and activities, developed by Childnet International.
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