Personal and family security

Children

A child is vulnerable on several fronts at once: physically, psychologically, socially, digitally and financially. That is why this is a permanent desk rather than a couple of articles.

An important feature of this audience: the child feels the pain, the parent makes the decision. So the material is written in two registers — an explanation for the child and an instruction for the adult.

We speak to children in the language of practical safety, not prohibition: not «you may not play», but «here is how you can tell that someone in the game is behaving strangely».

Core pain

«I don't know what to do when something dangerous happens, and I'm afraid to tell the adults».

Section topics

School and the way there

Bullying
Cyberbullying
Conflicts between children
Threats and extortion
Sharing of private photographs
Safety on the way to school
Strangers
Safety at school events

Digital safety

Messengers and social media
Online games and game chats
Unknown contacts
Phishing and malicious links
Account theft
Publishing personal data
Geolocation
Cameras and microphones
Passwords and two-factor authentication

Games

In-game purchases
Fraud in games
Game account theft
Contact with strangers
Blackmail
Extraction of personal information
Fake game sites
Malicious files

Psychological safety

How to spot bullying
The child is afraid to tell parents
Signs of psychological pressure
Manipulation and blackmail
Social isolation
Dangerous acquaintances
Peer pressure

For parents

How to teach a child about safety
When to give a smartphone
How to set up parental controls
How to explain fraud to a child
How to react to bullying
How to tell that a child has met a threat
Where to turn

Section rules

Agree in advance: telling you about a problem never leads to punishment. This is the only thing that genuinely keeps the door to you open.
Set the «freeze frame» rule: any request to send a photo, follow a link or hide something from the parents is shown to you first.
Go through the privacy settings together — in the apps the child actually uses, not in the ones you consider important.
Explain that an adult never asks a child to keep a secret from their parents — that alone is a sign of danger.

Important

Material about grooming and exploitation of children is written as prevention and education: without details that could be misused and without anything that could identify those affected.

Check yourself

How safe is your child's smartphone?

Settings, apps, games, chats and, above all, the agreement that lets a child bring you a problem.

Take the test