Texting Cyber Safety for Kids

Many parents give their children cell phones to make them more safe, but there are dangers

As more and more young people commonly carry cellular phones, concern over text message safety continues to mount. Young people can avoid putting themselves in danger with their texting habits by following a few simple guidelines.

Personal Information

Children and teenagers should never text personal information to people they do not know well. This includes things like home address, real full and legal name, which school they attend, or other information that predators can use to find or follow adolescents.

Pictures

Like personal information, pictures sent via text message can give potential predators an unsafe amount of information about young people. Pictures in front of identifiable buildings or landmarks could help predators zero in on a child's precise location, as could pictures in school or youth sports uniforms. Kids should not send pictures to anyone but their family and close friends.

Cyber Bullying

Children should report cyber bullying to adults immediately. Cyber bullying is the harassment of another individual via electronic media, including text messages. Cyber bullying is a major mental health concern for children and teens, and some suicides have reportedly been the result of this practice.

References

• Love Our Children USA: "Cell Phone And Text Messaging Safety"
• Cyberbullying Research Summary: "Cyberbullying and Suicide"