Keeping kids safe from online dangers

PHOENIX — It’s Internet Safety Month and tonight a Valley mom is taking extra steps to keep her teens safe online after a close call.

She talked with 12News about what she’s doing and how it can help your family stay safe.

“It’s chaos… that’s the first thing that comes to mind,” said Wanda Guercio, whose 14-year-old daughter Cailyn spends several hours on her smartphone every week. “…and the monitoring… it’s like okay, how do I keep them safe?”

Cailyn’s total screen time daily?

“Probably like roughly five or six hours,” Cailyn said.

And Wanda is highly engaged in managing the safety of Cailyn on her smartphone.

“I have the app called Family Link, which is free,” she said. “You can set limits on that.”

Guercio said the app allows her to check how much time her kids have spent on their devices, as well as the apps they have used and downloaded.

“In our case we homeschool, and so I just block it during the time that they’re supposed to be schooling,” said Guercio.

When Guercio’s older daughter first got her phone, she got into a bad situation during a group chat on Snapchat.

“One of the girls had let some random guy into the group chat, and so before they knew it the guy was like you know showing full frontal whatever,” she said. “…and when he got to the waist, my daughter, just kind of like left the chat room.”

Guercio said a stranger attempted to expose himself.

“Since then, I’m like, nobody Snapchat on your phones… I don’t allow it,” she said.

Now, Guercio is more vigilant with her younger children.

“That was a struggle with my younger kids too,” she said.

Guercio uses the Android Family Link app to restrict Cailyn’s screen time and access to games, and she knows when Cailyn tries to download something, because she has to approve it.  

Wanda can also restrict Cailyn’s text messaging by blocking contacts.

“I understand all the restrictions that they put on and why they do it,” Cailyn said. “…because as a 14-year-old, and in this day and age, of course there’s like hackers, pedophiles, just predators in general.”

Cailyn wishes she could have more freedom on her phone, but she also understands the potential dangers.

“My kids know that at any point in time I’ll be like, ‘hey I need to check your phone,’” Guercio said.

Guercio’s main goal is to protect her kids.

“It really comes down to communication,” said Jon Moffat, a cyber safety educator with Cyber Education Consulting. He is currently working with Cox Arizona.

In a survey by Cox Mobile, 73% of parents said even with more monitoring, their kids are savvy about hiding their phone activity.

“31% have admitted that a stranger has contacted their kid,” said Moffat. “…and then 28% of them knew their child’s location.”

Moffat said there are practical things you can do to keep your kids safe online, but one thing is irreplaceable.

“It’s called eyeballs,” he said. “You’ve got to be looking at what they are doing.”

Moffat also recommends creating a family contract related to online activity, making sure you have your kids’ passwords, keeping tabs on their text messages and being the gatekeeper of which apps they’re allowed to download.

“You can take action… to protect them starting today,” said Rachel Mitchell, Maricopa County Attorney. “Talk to your kids about the dangers waiting for them online.”

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office recently launched a campaign, warning parents cyber predators are increasingly targeting children online.

“Talk with them about what to do if someone threatens them, offers some gifts or wants them to video chat or send, photos and videos,” said Mitchell.

Mitchell said parents should check their kids’ devices regularly.

“Look at their phone, tablet, computer, gaming devices…” she said.

Mitchell recommends going a step further and learning to use your kids’ devices yourself.

The campaign Mitchell’s office launched and the advice she’s sharing is all in an effort to keep teens like Cailyn out of harm’s way.

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