Posted on October 3, 2014 · 2 Comments
Internet predators are a pressing concern for parents. Kids are becoming increasingly more tech-savvy, and forms of online communication are growing at an alarming rate. All too often we hear tales of horrific tragedies involving social networking sites, and know that many of these could have been prevented with parental monitoring and 
discussions about internet safety.
Until recently, I thought that such monitoring and discussions were something that I did not need to worry about for quite some time since my child is still very young and I teach at an elementary school. My thinking drastically changed after overhearing a conversation among second grade girls at my school about an upcoming sleepover. When I think of young girls’ slumber parties, I picture snacks, games and movies, but instead, the girls were planning to log on to their sisters’ social networking sites. From this moment, I knew that I needed to take responsibility for educating this demographic about internet safety, and wanted to encourage others to do the same.
After this incident, I began researching young children and internet use and found some disturbing information. For example, in 2008 according to the Rochester Institute of Technology:
- Approximately 48% of students from kindergarten to first grade interact with others on the internet.
- Of these 48%, nearly half of the students had already been exposed to something online that made them feel uncomfortable.
- To make matters worse, one in four of these children did not report his or her experience to an adult.
Given these findings, I was more convinced than ever that children are never too young to be introduced to the concept of being safe on the internet.
After exploring countless books, videos and the like, I found that there were many products, websites, and resources that helped educate parents and older children. However, I found no such internet safety resources and materials that were specifically geared toward introducing the subject to younger children. Then it hit me: there is a parallel between the Big Bad Wolf in the Little Red Riding Hood story and internet predators, and this would be a perfect way to introduce the concept to this age group. Pulling from this idea and what I have learned about quality children’s literature from my years of experience as a teacher, I wrote Little Red Hoodie. This children’s picture book is a modernized version of the classic tale in which the Big Bad Wolf plays the role of an internet predator posing as Granny online in an attempt to lure Little Red into his trap. I spent countless hours working to make the book child-friendly and humorous, so that the topic could be introduced in a nonthreatening way. My hope is that the book will initiate a critical conversation among families and perhaps even help prevent future tragedies.
HEALTHFUL HINTS:
- Educate yourself and your children about internet safety. Local police departments often offer various materials and programs to the community. There is also a wide variety of organizations and website that provide such resources including the following:
- Be mindful of the growing number of ways that your child can utilize the internet to interact with others. For example, many video games now allow children to go online and interact with other users.
- If you choose to use Little Red Hoodie as a tool for teaching your family about internet safety, here are some suggestions:
- Read the book at least once for enjoyment before using it to get into a serious discussion.
- After reading the book, help lead an open-ended discussion by asking questions such as the following: “How did the Wolf trick Little Red Hoodie?”, “Why do you think that the Wolf used the computer to try to trick Little Red Hoodie?”, “How do you think that the story would have been different if Little Red Hoodie would have asked her mother before leaving the apartment?”, “What do you think Little Red Hoodie should have done?”
- Post “Little Red Hoodie’s Rules to SAFE Internet Use” near your computer (found on the last page of the book).
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Editor’s Note: we first ran this post in January of 2010. Unfortunately, despite numerous technological advances, the internet has not become a safer place for our kids to play. There are wolves lurking under the covers and in the dark places, and it is up to us to keep our little ones safe from these predators – a job made far more difficult as our children’s internet skills far surpass our own. According to a recent headline “children as young as THREE now know how to access the web – and are teaching their parents how to use tablets and phones“. Now more than ever we need a way to introduce our kids to the big bad internet wolf. We need something like Little Red Hoodie.
Online safety іѕ the area that warrants the most
urgent consideration fгom policymakers, аccording tⲟo tthe rеcently printed Internet Society Survey
оn Policy Issues іn Asia Pacific.
Thanks for the Asia Pacific perspective. Seems online safety is an issue globally. Please stop by again.