Child safety topics

Coercion, trolling, and abuse. Keep your children safe when they’re meeting people online

Children and teenagers spend hours interacting with others on the internet. But social media and online gaming also give opportunities to those who want to harm your child. The fact that such platforms allow anyone to access large online communities more or less anonymously attracts bullies, trolls, and sexual predators. If you want to do something for your child’s protection, you should acknowledge the risks and learn more about these groups, their motivations, and methods.

Is your child being cyberbullied? These are the red flags

Is your child moody or do they pretend to be sick just to avoid school? Puberty, exams or laziness are not the only reasons that might be behind such behaviour. Cyberbullying (harassment that takes place in the digital space), can be another cause with possibly far-reaching real-life consequences. Unfortunately, not every parent can distinguish common teenage issues from the red flags raised by cyberbullying.

ANIMALIA – Cyberbullying

Elias Between Two Worlds - Ep. 3 - Cyberbullying

5 things to remember when using Snapchat

If you´ve ever seen your kid’s phone, you might have noticed an icon of a white ghost on a yellow background. This is Snapchat. A popular social media messaging app, that allows you to send photos, videos, and messages to your contacts. The fun thing about Snapchat is its disappearing message feature. Once the message or photo is opened, the receiver cannot access it anymore. So, it´s a one-time view-only messaging system.

Is BeReal safe for your kids?

You might have heard about the new photo-sharing app “BeReal.” But you may be asking yourself, what is it? And is it safe for my kids?

Streamer explains: What I learned thanks to Twitch and gaming

It was in 2015 when she first came across the Twitch streaming platform. Katerina Tuzarova aka OdetteD (29) had been playing computer games since childhood, and her hobby later turned into a part-time job that would provide her with extra income during her university studies. She became one of the top 10 female players of Age of Empires 2, a popular real-time strategy game. Here’s more about her experience.

Twitch slang. Do you know your kid’s lingo?

Emotes, memes, slang expressions. The means of communication on the Twitch streaming platform are varied. Do you know what your kids mean when they share a Kappa in the chat? And what are these subs that the streamers crave so much?

Grooming: How to react

What do you see when you see a message from an online predator? Can children recognize it for what it is if or when they see it? And how should they react? Get to know some of the common techniques employed by online groomers and discuss the warning signs and appropriate reactions with your child. Use this article as a tool for prevention and work together with your child to ensure they have safe experiences online.

Is my child being groomed? And what to do next

It is a horrible situation to find yourself in as a parent, finding out that your child has been attacked by an online predator, manipulated, and taken advantage of. Most predators try their hardest to not be found out, and they manage to do so for quite a long time. So, finding out that your child might be involved with someone like that is a challenge on its own. We sat down with child psychologist Jarmila Tomkova to talk about early signs, what is going on in the child’s mind and what we can do to prevent grooming and help them in situations such as these.

How an online predator contacts your child

Social media, chat rooms, instant messaging, and online games: all of these offer amazing opportunities for your kids. They can talk to their friends and have fun sharing videos and playing games. At the same time, though, they make it very easy for anyone to contact your child, be it through a message, a comment under a video, or through a game. Author: Alžbeta Kovaľová

ANIMALIA – Fake profiles & Online predators

Elias Between Two Worlds - Ep. 2 - Downloading

What can you do to help your children avoid the pitfalls of downloading?

On the surface, the internet seems to offer anything and everything you might need – on demand and free. Children and teens especially enjoy the benefits of being able to download any song, film, book, computer program or app they want. However, even the internet has its limitations.

ANIMALIA – Illegal downloading

Safe downloading

ANIMALIA - Gaming

Safe online gaming for kids

Elias Between Two Worlds - Ep.10 - Online gaming

Safe online gaming

Does your young gamer play it safe? Six tips that will keep them well-protected

Twenty years ago, playing a game with players from the other side of the globe was just a dream. For today’s kids, this is the reality that is only a few clicks away. But cooperating or competing with complete strangers, who children know only by their nicknames, carries its risks.

Safer Kids Online vlog | Staying safe during online gaming