April 8, 2020 – Children that are trapped in the house for a long time may face a condition called “Cabin Fever” or mental stress condition that they are not allowed to go anywhere, except staying at home. It is a feeling that is associated with negative emotions and suffering caused by limited space. Also, it significantly leads to irritability, boredom, distracting, hopelessness or even abnormal behavior. Nevertheless, things that could help children from Cabin Fever are sleeping and exercising properly, in which parents play a big role in designing their daily activities to make more discipline in their daily life.

Hence, dtac has 5 Tips To Help Your Children Stay Safe Online During Lockdown

1. Talk to your children about what’s happening

Try to help your child understand what is going on by giving a truthful explanation that is appropriate for their age. This may help reduce feelings of confusion, anger, sadness, and fear.

You can’t fix everything, but you can make sure that they know you are there for them.

2. Help them spend quality time online

Children who are stuck inside are likely to be drawn to screens for entertainment, but you can help them make good choices about how they spend that time. Try to balance the time they spend on games and social media with offline activities and video chats with friends.

3. Encourage them to think about what they read

Information spreads quickly online. This can be great, but it also makes it easy for rumours and false statements to get out of hand. Remind your child that if they’re not sure about something they see online, they can always ask you, or another trusted adult.

4. Consider who your children are in contact with

Talk to your child about online friendships. Let them know that if they ever feel uncomfortable at the way a conversation is going, they should end it immediately and talk to an adult they know they can trust.

It can be hard to spot the signs of online grooming, so if you’re worried that your child’s behaviour is out of character, talk to them to find out what’s wrong.

5. Take care of their mental health

Children who are used to running around and hanging out with friends might get cabin fever when stuck inside for long periods. It’s important for their mental health that they still get exercise and sleep properly – so sit down with them and draw up a schedule that gives their day some structure.

It can include everything from meal times to gaming sessions – just make sure that it’s varied and that they are happy with it too.

In this difficult situation, over 5 millions of Thai children are being affected by cyber risks. Accordingly, one of the important duties of parents is to guide their children on how to use the internet wisely, to help reduce the impact on children’s mental health and other risks that followed by social media.

Moreover, during the semester break which is likely to be extended due to the COVID-19 outbreak, there will be more than 5 million secondary school students spend more than 10 hours online with their phones or tablets, which means that the cyber risk they faced will be dramatically increased.

On-Uma Rerkpattanapipat, Head of Communications and Sustainability at Total Access Communication PLC or dtac, said: “As a consequence, dtac has organized the Young Safe Internet Leader Cyber Camp for teenagers aged 13-18 years old. The Young Safe Internet Leader cyber camp is aimed to empower Thai youth to improve society and develop their digital resilience. The participants will gain a range of digital skills from digital literacy to critical thinking from famous coaches and mentors. The Young Safe Internet Leader Cyber Camp is now accepting applications through April 10 via https://www.safeinternet.camp/ Qualified teams will be announced on April 20. The camp runs online from April 27 onwards.”

#dtacSafeInternet