Last week, Krystal, a 14 year old girl
from Sydney was driven away from her
parents home in a P-plate car.
Last week, Krystal, a 14 year old girl from Sydney was driven away from her
parents home in a P-plate car.
I always advise parents to download the latest apps and to familiarise themselves with them and Kik is no exception. Kik is a free texting/messaging app that police have dubbed as ''the No.1 social media problem involving teenagers".
This article appeared in The Age last Sunday as a result of Krystal's disappearance last week.
and the advice to parents is sensible and practical because it's not about blocking or banning it's use but instead the focus is on educating students, as well as parents.
Children need to be shown how to use these apps safely, they need to be shown how to block contacts and they need to be told why and how to be discerning in who they add as 'contacts' or 'friends'.
The app is free and can easily be downloaded onto any device including iPod Touches. It provides an instant messaging service that is similar to texting on a phone but it's not linked to a phone number or a parent account, but rather the child's profile therefore it is hard for parents to monitor and many are unaware of it's existence. Many children were also posting their Kik details on other websites and apps such as Instagram to promote more contacts. I don't have any issue with children using these apps, as long as the parents understand how they work and can support them, that they can be trusted 100% not to add strangers, that if they do add a stranger or see something that concerns them that they know how to block people from making further contact with them.
My recommendation to parents would be to ask yourself, " is my child mature enough at 13 years old (or even younger as I see it heavily used from 9+) to manage this app?" and the only way you can know that is if you are on it yourself. As a result of a number of disturbing incidences recently on Kik, they have increased their sign up age from 13 years old to 17.
SnapChat, another app very popular with 'tweens' has introduced a version for those under 13 years old, they say:
"Snapchat is not intended for children under the age of 13. Minors ages 13-17 should have permission from a parent or legal guardian before using Snapchat. If you are the parent or legal guardian of a minor that is using Snapchat without your permission, please refer to the ‘How can I prevent my teen from using Snapchat?" section of this guide
http://www.snapchat.com/static_files/parents.pdf Children under the age of 13 are only permitted to access a special version of Snapchat, called SnapKidz, which they are automatically directed to upon sign up."
Another thing I point out to parents is that social networks on the whole don't provide parents or police with personal information and in Krystal's case the Gladesville police had to rely on members of the public coming forward with information which is how they ultimately found her in rural Victoria. Police also rarely get involved unless there has been a serious death threat or a child is missing and of course they will ask you as a parent why your child was on a site that is only suitable for those aged 17+.
Using a local case study is often a great way to start a conversation with your child as they can
relate to it far better if they are: familiar with the locations in the story or are of a similar age to the victim.
Parents need to start these conversations NOW as we head into a lengthy school holiday period when children are unoccupied during the day, are having sleepovers, being introduced to new apps by older siblings or older siblings of their friends and aren't as heavily supervised.
SnapChat, another app very popular with 'tweens' has introduced a version for those under 13 years old, they say:
"Snapchat is not intended for children under the age of 13. Minors ages 13-17 should have permission from a parent or legal guardian before using Snapchat. If you are the parent or legal guardian of a minor that is using Snapchat without your permission, please refer to the ‘How can I prevent my teen from using Snapchat?" section of this guide
http://www.snapchat.com/static_files/parents.pdf Children under the age of 13 are only permitted to access a special version of Snapchat, called SnapKidz, which they are automatically directed to upon sign up."
Another thing I point out to parents is that social networks on the whole don't provide parents or police with personal information and in Krystal's case the Gladesville police had to rely on members of the public coming forward with information which is how they ultimately found her in rural Victoria. Police also rarely get involved unless there has been a serious death threat or a child is missing and of course they will ask you as a parent why your child was on a site that is only suitable for those aged 17+.
Using a local case study is often a great way to start a conversation with your child as they can
relate to it far better if they are: familiar with the locations in the story or are of a similar age to the victim.
Parents need to start these conversations NOW as we head into a lengthy school holiday period when children are unoccupied during the day, are having sleepovers, being introduced to new apps by older siblings or older siblings of their friends and aren't as heavily supervised.
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