When minors start to use devices with internet connectivityIt is very important that mothers and fathers are present and know how to act as "guides", in order to avoid or minimize the risks associated with inappropriate use. There is no doubt that there is an age for everything, and many times problems come because we put in the hands of those who are still very young, tools that will allow them to have fun and communicate with others, but for which a certain maturity is required.
For example, it is not frequent that children and adolescents under 15 years of age act thinking about the consequences of their actions, impulsivity, experimentation, immediacy, the search for pleasure, are more typical of childhood. that is why they need to grow and develop in homes with adults who protect them. These days we are reading the statements of an inspector of the National Police Corps called Esther Arén, which is specialized in the fight against harassment of minors and criminal offenses. In his words, specialists advise that we should not provide our daughters and sons with their own mobile before the age of 12.
Can children use WhatsApp?
Esther also tells us that it would be better than the little ones they will not use WhatsApp.
According to information available in the service page: “You must be at least 13 years old (or the minimum age required by your country to have authorization without parental approval)”; having said that, when a child under that age downloads WhatsApp on their mobile and accepts the conditions, the company (in this case Facebook, which owns) understands that parents are knowledgeable and accept.
But running away from technicalities and sticking to common sense, What's the point of a 9 or 10-year-old child having his own mobile and therefore WhatsApp? What do you need? And now I put myself in the extreme case that you have considered that your little one is going to have a brand new device and the best known and most used messaging application in the world ..., at least bother to explain tips for use, and establish rules in this regard .
The decision is in the hands of each family: neither can we deny the reality that surrounds our children, nor are we obliged to give them the smartphone just because “everyone in my fifth grade class has it” (remember that the concept “everyone has it / everyone does it / they all let them ”Is overrated).
WhatsApp, minors and security.
It is so easy to use that it is tempting, but any information can be forwarded to other contacts by its recipient. I do not fall into the error of thinking that my children's WhatsApp friends are treacherous and the confidences or "compromised" photographs will end up on several dozen devices of other children at school or the Institute, but it can happen (and in fact it is frequent that sexting shared and distributed). By the way, my 13-year-old son has had a mobile and WhatsApp for a year, the 10-year-old girl doesn't have, nor will she ever have.
So be very careful with what is said and what is exposed: It is good for children and adults to carry out a “mental simulation” exercise from time to time: “imagine that what you are going to say, what you are going to share, 50 people were going to see it. and three times before? " (in fact, in groups we work differently than we do in person-to-person chats).
And in case you don't know, by accessing the "Settings" function of the personal profile, we find a sub-section "Account", within which we can modify the Privacy and Security, so that other people who do not have in the phone book see our profile image, or so that no one knows what time we connected for the last time. I assure you that it is worth spending 15 minutes making adjustments.
More tips
When children are still young, and ask to have a mobile phone and WhatsApp, mothers and / or fathers can agree to have their groups on your phone, it is a good solution that allows them to experiment and train in the use of what it is. a social network (although we create it an application). It will be easier for them to accept if the elders commit to not "spying" on their conversations, unless it is very necessary (for suspecting malpractice).
It is a good idea to get used to periodically erasing conversations and images from the screen, because in case of theft or loss, other people will not be able to know the activity by WhatsApp, or other stored data. And it is very important to establish a screen unlock password with pattern or pin, and if possible linked to an email account, for its recovery if they forget it.
You can install parental control on the child's smartphone or applications that keep you informed of the activity, but for me communication is much more important, because in addition to providing closeness, we can update the advice we give to the little ones. I really consider it fortunate that today we have so many communication channels, but we must use common sense more or less continuously.
And it is not only sexting, there is also the risk of grooming and cyberbullyingwhose incidence has increased). Set an example for children and not be inhibited they are also recommendations to adopt.
Finally, I would like to tell you that online behaviors can be appropriate and healthy, but also immoral, and even illegal; in this sense, let no one forget that from the age of 14 criminal responsibilities are faced. The sooner you talk to your children about this topic, the more prepared they will be to exercise cybercitizenship and to make devices and the Internet, tools with which to progress and establish constructive relationships with other people.
Images - microserves, apk