Wanting your child to be happy and healthy comes with ensuring their safety. In this day of interconnectedness it means ensuring they are using technology and the internet responsibly.
Youth are still developing and understanding the repercussions of their actions, so when it comes to the instant world of the internet, SnapChat, and other apps kids may not always make the best choices. It’s important for parents and guardians to be able to help educate their kids in using technology.
Knowing how to navigate the instant world of today comes with realizing the need for help in first educating parents/guardians first and then approaching youth, so a meaningful conversation can happen at home regarding the issue.
Thus, principal of Carlyle Elementary School, Tyler Fehrenbach, decided to take action and has been in talks with local RCMP about the best course of action in helping parents approach the ever evolving age of technology.
“I contacted Darren Simons and Jamie Barnett [at the local detachment] to ask what we can do to educate parents,” Fehrenbach explained. “I use technology, but there are so many apps out there I know I’m not keeping up with them all.”
“You can hand a kid a phone and say ‘be safe’ or ‘be smart,’ but what does that really mean and how can we make sure they are being safe and smart?”
Together they approached Saskatchewan Internet Child Exploitation Unit – the Sask ICE Unit – and they will be in Carlyle on Wednesday, Dec. 6, to present from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Elementary School. The meeting is for any parent or guardian in the area interested and is not limited to Carlyle Elementary School parents – in an effort to help everyone the Carlyle Elementary School Community Council, RCMP, and Victim Services are focused on bringing this information to southeast Saskatchewan.
“As a parent we’re supposed to educate, to provide knowledge on this subject, but we don’t all have the knowledge to do so,” Staff Sergeant Darren Simons stated. “Parents don’t understand the internet, social media, etc… as well as they need to in order to have those conversations. As a parent and police officer I can say the Sask ICE presentation is very rewarding and there is a lot of good information there.”
The Sask ICE Unit has presents around the world and are a joint task force consisting of Saskatoon, Regina, and Prince Albert Police Services alongside the RCMP.
“These people are experts,” Simons adds. “They have the most comprehensive knowledge and experience in dealing with this. Sask ICE is on the cutting edge of what they do and are more knowledgeable than anyone in the world and have presented around the world.”
Sask ICE will be presenting on the following:
1 – Are you keeping your child safe?
2 – Dangers of Social Media and Internet Sites
3 – Alarming statistics concerning exploitation of children (Saskatchewan and Canada)
4 – What do parents and community members need to know?
“As a parent and principal I don’t think I know enough; and we won’t know until we’re told,” Fehrenbach added. “Our goal is to educate parents first, they need to know and I need to know what access kids have. Once the parents are educated we can present to the kids, that way they can go home and have meaningful conversations.”
“Technology has its benefits, it connects us all which can be a great thing, but kids are often connected too much, too often – they could be connected 24/7, 365 days of the year through technology. They may not think of consequences of their actions and on the internet those mistakes are there forever in a digital footprint or they may be talking to someone they think is their age, but could really be anybody around the world.”
“The more people we can educate the better, we want to save a kid from making those mistakes and shed light on the dangers associated with the internet and apps being used out there.”
