How to safeguard your kids from child porn

We are living in a day when it is impossible to exist without the internet. Social media, no matter how good and useful, is not free from dangers. One of the most dangerous things on the internet is pornography and adult explicit content, which children should be protected from at all costs. But remember that not only is it important to safeguard your child from internet porn, your child could also fall prey to the evil world of pornography.

Child pornography is banned all over the world yet there are incidents where the sexually explicit content has found its way on the internet. It puts the life of young innocent children at risk, who without knowing the perils end up on the internet.

Protecting your child from the terrors of pornography can seem like an insurmountable work. The first and foremost thing to do is to help the children of appropriate age to recognize the threat it presents to not only them but also to the society as a whole. Kids should be told when to say No to pornography, even if they are exposed to it accidentally.

Indulging in child porn in any manner is a crime and comes with a heavy price to pay. As one of the many measures to battle child pornography, which is shockingly on a rise, major tech companies and social media sites such as Google and Facebook are now starting to block and filter out many of the keywords related to child pornography, curbing the menace.

When you type child porn on Google, the website shows a warning sign. This extends to messaging services like Whatsapp as well, which are used widely by children and teenagers. It is one of the ways to keep the children safe.

Your child could be exposed to pornography through friends, neighbours and sadly, by some family members too. It makes them curious. So it is important to have an ongoing dialogue with them. If you find out that your child has seen pornography, stay calm. Talk it out with them how it is important to stay away from it and ways it can turn dangerous. The earlier you start the dialogue, the better it will be.

Kids aren't at an age to make sound decisions for themselves and anything they do on social media should be monitored closely. Parents and guardians can filter out what and how their children are using social media.

When you start policing your child's online activities, it is important for the child to understand that your policing in no way shows your distrust in them but is actually a means to keep them safe.

Again, it is very important to make your children aware about sex, good touch and bad touch to keep them safe. The more aware your kids are, the smarter they turn out to be on the internet.

One thing parents can do is to maintain control over their kids' gadgets. Phones and apps now come with pre-installed filters and options that are helpful for parents to keep a watch over their kids on the internet.

There are times when parents share some private, intimate pictures of their little children on social media, which may be considered harmless but is enough for the perverts to use them illegally. Experts warn parents to be extra careful before they post such pictures. Doing so also breaches the kids' privacy, since they are not able to give consent at their age. It also has dire consequences as it can be easily accessible by strangers online.

In earlier days, pornography was not accessible as readily as it is today. Smartphones, tablets, home laptops have all made its penetration into our homes easy. In fact, as parents you should be closely monitoring who is taking pictures of your child, that too without your consent. It is ok to say no to protect your child.