Child grooming: Preparing safety nets

Parents play the most important roles in a child’s safety and development. Yet, it is most unfortunate that parents today, the Moms and the Dads, are involve in the rat race of earning more money to increase their standards of living and status. Who then is left to raise their children? It is so common to have one family owning a few cars and houses, with young children having their own computers, mobile phones, smart phones and tabs. Most of the time, they are left alone to play on their own or in the hands of their grandparents or maids. Parents assume that their children would be safe as long as they do not leave the house. Of course that is partly correct, given the number of child abduction cases on the rise recently. However, as we mentioned in our previous posts, being at home does not mean they are safe.

Children today spend a lot of time online, especially on social networks communicating with “friends”. There is an informative article on “How do predators groom kids” on Internet Safety 101 that describes the tactics that online predators use to befriend children, gain their trust, manipulate them for their sexual vices and ultimately to get these children to meet them in person.

To prevent this horrendous crime from happening, the No. 1 rule for parents is to always be aware of what their children are doing on the internet especially what social networks they use and who their friends are. MySecure Cyberspace posted an article about OnlineGrooming and listed protective measures that parents should follow:

• Always know what your child is doing on the internet
• Have an open discussion with your child about online grooming and what they should and should not do.
• Monitor your child’s phone calls, expenses and any presents received
• Observe your child especially in terms of communication and behaviour
• Block the IM accounts of online groomers or any suspicious characters online

Parents usually teach their children not to talk to strangers; this should most definitely be applied online as well! There are no cyberlaws yet in Malaysia that prohibits adults with malicious intentions from communicating with children online although we can fall back on Section 15 of UK’s Sexual Offences Act 2003, it is ultimately the responsibility of parents to ensure the safety of their children.

Sources: Internet Safety 101 on “How do predators groom kids”; MySecure Cyberspace on “OnlineGrooming”; SafeKids.com on “How to recognize grooming”