Last week Amanda from REIM visited our school and held workshops with the P.4 - P.7 classes on the topic of ‘Cyber Bullying’ as part of Anti-Bullying Week. The boys and girls learned about how to stay safe online and the importance of being an up-stander when they witness bullying, instead of a bystander.
A lot of our boys and girls shared their favourite apps and games with Amanda before she highlighted the reality that people can make fake profiles and how the people you are chatting to online may not be who they say they are. She emphasised the importance of only playing with people online that you know in real life and telling a trusted adult if anything happens online that isn’t respectful and safe. The boys and girls learnt the importance of never giving out passwords or any personal information, not even so much as what your favourite colour is as this is how strangers start to build a relationship with young people. They were also reminded of the legal age of having social media accounts (age 13) and how they should only have real people on them.
With the ever growing popularity of technology, online gaming and social media with children and young people, it is crucial that we adults and parents educate our children on how to stay safe online and that we monitor all they do, particularly on apps and games that enable open chat functions. Let’s make #strangerdanger education a priority in our homes.
