Family and Friends Forum

My children were 17 and 14 when my partner was arrested. It opened up lots of conversations between me and my children, particularly my son over the last three years. I'd always warned them of the dangers of others online but now I've changed this dialect to include the dangers of themselves online.
I've tried to do this in a way that felt best for them and our relationship, I know that my daughter would be less comfortable than my son is about this discussion so I broach the subject with her by discussing some of the issues faced by people on here. She has expressed previously that she was scared when the family laptop was taken as she had been sent images from peers and was worried that she'd be in trouble so that opened up a conversation about the grey area that exists of teens sending pictures amongst themselves.

My son is more open to conversations so I've gone through how to report images or videos that he may come across by mistake on social media platforms or legal porn sites.

It is a tricky age to navigate without the added knowledge that we all have in this community xxx

This is a big worry. All of us on here know now how easy it is to access inappropriate images whether knowingly , accidentally and even sometimes without searching for it . Even with giving them all the warnings and info around online safety , without actually confiscating all devices how can we guarantee to keep our kids/ teens safe? I was so naive before all this happened I never realised how easily accessible those images were . I thought they'd only be available on the deep Dark Net not on social media etc I've warned my kids to tell me straight away if they get any disturbing messages / images but even through all this nobody has ever informed me on exactly what needs to be done if anything is inadvertently accessed. Would hitting the report button be sufficient or do we report it straight to the police?

I'm sure I read somewhere recently that more than half of boys have seen pornograohy by aged 9. It terrifies me. I hope my person can be central to educating him in the future about the dangers having the loved experience he does, alongside me or course

I agree it's terrifying. At school at the age of 10 - yes 10 - most kids have a mobile phone. A big wide world opens up in front of them.

Not all bad and mobiles have their uses, but as we know the internet holds extreme dangers, it can easily lure their innocent gullible minds into dark scary areas.

I have no answers, everyone loves technology and social media etc, it's part of our lives. But I dread the day my grandchildren get a mobile phone.

It's really scary. My son has just turned 13 and knows more than I would like about the sordid side of the internet (thanks to his dad). I think there is no way to avoid them seeing things, even with the best filters on our internet. Instead I am trying to encourage my son to show me anything he feels uncomfortable with so we can talk about it. I am hoping from keeping the dialogue open he will trust me rather than hiding things from me. I also constantly bang on about respect etc in relationships and sex, so he if does look a porn he things that kind of sex is normal. Desperately want him to be a kind loving boyfriend in the future. It worries me he has had a terrible role model from his own father