"Careful parents" – new campaign of the Empowering Children Foundation

"Careful parents" is a Polish Safer Internet Centre campaign about the importance of parental presence and guidance while protecting children from online threats. 

Date 2018-05-09 Author Polish Safer Internet Centre
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The campaign is focused on the problem of online grooming. Online grooming of children is a manipulation designed to induce a child to create erotic materials, and sometimes also to meet and sexually abuse him/her. The online manipulators usually choose as victims children who need attention, appreciation, who are lonely and who encounter difficulties in solving their daily life problems.

The support given by the perpetrator is of course only deception and leads to a mechanism that involves children in a threatening relationship. According to a recent Polish study, almost one in four teenagers (23.1 per cent) admit that they had a meeting in real life with someone (an adult) they had met online. Out of that group only 39 per cent reported it to their parents and 29 per cent did not inform anyone (NASK, 2016). Meanwhile, the number of reported incidents of online grooming of children is on a constant rise.

Children whose parents have time to talk to them, are attentive to their behaviour, and are able to recognize and cater for their needs are much less likely to be manipulated (both online and off). Therefore the campaign's slogan is "Being a parent is a challenge. Be sure not to miss anything" and the accompanying materials - a brochure, a website, press and internet articles, and classroom scenarios - show what parental attention is and how to take care of one's children's online safety.

The "Careful parents" campaign is implemented by the Empowering Children Foundation within the framework of the Polish Safer Internet Center. The Orange Foundation is the main partner of the action. The activities are co-financed by the OAK Foundation. The campaign is realized under the patronage of Polish police.

The Polish Safer Internet Centre is inviting interested Safer Internet Centres to use and adapt campaign materials in their countries. For more information please contact katarzyna.zygmunt@fdds.pl.

For more information about the Polish Safer Internet Centre, visit the dedicated area on the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) portal.

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