With children having access to the internet in many places and through various devices, it is important for parents to educate them about the dangers. We let them know about things like cyberbullying, online predators, and how to protect about reputation. But what is important is that our kids know that something they post or do today can affect them tomorrow. Thing on the internet are permanent – they don’t just go away. It is your responsibility as a parent to make sure your child understands this. To read the full article and watch the VIDEO on how “kids’s behavior today can negatively affect their future” check out Clickondetroit.com!

 

PLYMOUTH, Mich. – Children have a lot of access to the Internet with computers, laptops, iPads and cell phones.

The Internet is a tool children can use for school and fun, but they can quickly find themselves in a dangerous situation facing predators and bullies.  They can also do and say things online that could hurt themselves and their reputation.

Seventh grade students at West Middle School in Plymouth were reminded of the dangers of the Internet during a presentation by the office of Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette.

They learned about cyber bullying, predators and how to protect their reputation.

The messages about bullying hit home for a lot of students.

“There are people out there that want to hurt other people and they, they don’t know what they are doing, and they don’t know that they’re actually hurting lives,” said seventh-grade student Mohamed Fofama.

Fofama knows how much bullying hurts. He said he was bullied.

“There was this guy who tripped me, and this girl, uh, this girl putted it on Facebook, put the video on Facebook,” said Fofama.
He told his father and the bullying stopped.

“They need to understand that just because you say something online, it needs to be something that you would have said in person. Many kids are, you know, hiding behind their gaming console or their computer screen, and they will say things and they don’t really understand the ramifications of those statements,” said West Middle School Principal Clint Smiley.

The presentation by Schuette’s office told students who face a bully to do the following:
1.Don’t to respond or retaliate.
2. Block the bully.
3. Save evidence of the bullying.
4.Tell a parent or another trusted adult what is happening.

“It was on the bus, so the bus driver knew about it too. And I had to tell my mom,” said Traver Rouse about his bullying experience.

“I have had some friends who had gotten mean text messages and they just go to an adult and tell them and everything got cleared up,” said Alyssa Salloum.

The Michigan Attorney General’s office said there are three “keeps” to teach children about staying safe online:

1. I keep safe my personal information.
2. I keep away from Internet strangers
3. I keep telling my parents or trusted adult.

Smiley said parents need to be vigilant about what they’re children are doing online to keep them away from predators and out of trouble.

“You wouldn’t let your kid go wander the streets at three in the morning of any town, so why would you let them wander the super high way?  And they are wandering those streets all the time. You know, many of the things that happen that come to school, don’t happen at four in the afternoon. They happen at two in the morning, three in the morning, four in the morning, and that concerns me because kids need sleep, but also that their parents clearly can’t be moderating them at that time of the day,” said Smiley.

The other message students received was that what they say, the pictures they text or post, can affect their future.  Whether it is an inappropriate Facebook post or sexting, children can face consequences that could affect their future chances of getting into the college they want or even a job.

They were taught to be responsible with what they do online.

“I learned not to send like an inappropriate text to other people or of yourself to other people because it will get spread around and it’s illegal and it’s a felony. You will go to jail,” said seventh-grader Joe McAllister.

The AG’s office has created an online safety contract for families to consider using.

It outlines safety measures parents and children can talk about and agree to to keep them safe.

If you would like to take a look at it, click here.  Once on that page, go to the student presentations handouts to find the contract.