Warning: 'children being bullied, harassed and groomed online'
Parents were advised to watch the Netflix mini-series Adolescence and a Channel 4 documentary on school children and smartphones, when they attended a talk on cyber safety last week.
More than 200 people attended the event the Mullingar Park Hotel on Thursday evening, and they were told to talk to their children about their online experiences because children are being bullied, harassed and groomed online but are reluctant to say so because their phones will be taken off them.
They were warned, when they get a new phone and give their old phone to their child, to do a factory reset on it, otherwise the child could get adult content. However, it is not just smart phones that are the problem. PlayStation, Xbox, tablets and other devices through which children can talk to others are also a danger.
It was claimed that 79 percent of 12-18-year-olds are seeing pornography, often without ever having searched for it. Children should not have phones or electronic devices in their bedrooms because of the risk of fire, but also because you do not know to whom they are talking, parents were warned. They were told to turn on safe search on all devices to stop explicit images.
Get devices out of the bedroom and get children talking. Empower your children and arm them to deal with the nasty stuff they are going to see online. Sit down with your child and turn on safe search with them.
Use Google to find out the risks attached to the games your child is playing. Don’t let them buy anything on the internet using your credit card because 90 percent of websites are fake. These were some of the tips given to parents to help protect their children.
The talk was organised by the principals of local primary schools who see, on a daily basis, increasing numbers of children who are over-tired or disruptive because of excessive and inappropriate use of the internet and online gaming.
Michael Molloy, principal of Holy Family Primary School, said it was heartening to see such a good turnout on a fine evening. “We witness on a daily basis the adverse effects smartphones and electronic devices are having, pupils falling asleep in school, inappropriate behaviour and discussion among students who have not reached puberty, aggression and addiction traits, to name but a few,” he said.
Ger Beehan, principal of St Colman’s NS, explained that this initiative began at a parents association meeting in his school. Parents were worried but felt pressurised to allow their children to have smartphones and electronic devices.
A survey by the Mullingar Parish found that 91.5 percent of the 796 parents who took part felt that primary school children should not have smartphones, and 81 per cent were willing to take part in a voluntary agreement not to give smartphones to their children until they left primary school.
Mr Beehan suggested that a policy introduced in Greystones whereby parents agreed not to provide their children with smartphones until they left primary school, could be implemented in this area. He said that if everyone stood together, then parents could counter the common claim made by children that “everyone has one”. He called for a general discussion on “how to protect our children and preserve their childhood”.
The principal of St Colmcille’s NS, Gainstown, Jane Brady, urged those present to discuss what they had heard among themselves and then with their children.
She thanked all the principals who had worked hard on the initiative. The schools involved were Holy Family PS, Presentation Junior and Senior Schools, St Mary’s NS, St Colman’s NS, St Colmcille’s NS, Gainstown; Gaelscoil an Mhuilinn, All Saints NS, St Kenny NS, and St Brigid’s School.