The advisory asks parents and teachers to keep your eyes open for unusually secretive behaviour in children, mostly related to their online activity or any sudden increase in the time they spend online, especially social media.
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Education of Friday issued an advisory for parents and teachers to educate them about the necessary practices to ensure that children maintain safe practices while playing online games. The advisory noted that closure of schools due to pandemics has increased use of mobile and internet by children, and said, ” playing online games with no restriction and self-limits leads many players to become addicted and are eventually diagnosed with gaming disorder.
“In the new era of technology, online gaming is very popular with children because of the challenges it brings to the players which excite them and making them play more which can lead to addiction…Online gaming can be accessed with the use of a phone or a tablet which is a common factor in online game addiction because children can easily play games anywhere anytime affecting their time for their school and social life,” the Education Ministry said in the advisory.
The Ministry advised the parents and teacher to not allow in-game purchases without parental consent. “To avoid in app purchases; OTP based payment methods may be adopted as per RBI’s guidelines. Avoid credit/debit cards registration on apps for subscriptions. Place an upper limit on expenditure per transaction,” it said.
Do not let kids buy directly from laptop or mobile
Parents are also advised to not let children buy directly from the laptop or mobile they use for gaming and advise children not to download software and games from unknown websites. “Tell them to be beware of clicking links, images and pop-ups in the websites as they may contain a virus and harm the computer, and may contain age-inappropriate content. Advise them not to give personal information over the Internet while downloading games. They should never share personal information with people in games and on gaming profile,” it noted further.
Stop them from communicating with strangers
The advisory also cautions parents to prevent children from communicating with strangers, including adults, through web cam, private messaging or online chat, “as it increases the risk of contact from online abusers, or bullying from other players.” It further asked parents to advise children against engaging in game for long hours without taking a break considering health aspects and addiction.
Help your child to protect their privacy online
However, while playing online games, if something wrong happened, the Ministry asked parents to instruct their wards to stop immediately and take a screenshot (using the “print screen” button on the keyboard) and report it. “Help your child to protect their privacy online, get them to use a screen name (avatar) that does not reveal their real name. Use antivirus/spyware programs and configure web browsers securely using firewall. Activate parental controls and safety features on the device. Check the age rating of any games your child is playing,” noted the Ministry.
Ask children to not respond to online bullying
In case of a bullying, the advisory asked adults to encourage their child to not to respond and keep a record of the harassing messages and report the behaviour to the game site administrator/block, mute or ‘unfriend’ that person from their players list, or turn off the in-game chat function. Parents are also asked to always ensure that their child accesses internet from a computer placed in the family space.
Have conversations about gambling, addiction with child
The advisory suggested parents should play alongside their child to get a better sense of how they are handling their personal information and who they are communicating with and help the child understand that some features in online games are used to encourage more play and spending. Conversations about gambling, what it is and its consequences both online and in the physical world, between adults and children has also been advocated for in the advisory.
Teachers to keep eye on change in student’s behaviour
Further teachers are asked to keep an eye on falling grades and social behaviour of the students and if they observe something that may seem suspicious or alarming, they are asked to inform the school authorities immediately. “Teachers should ensure that children are sensitized about the pros and cons of the internet from time to time. Teachers should train students for secure configuration of web browsers and web applications,” it added.
