Your Child Is Safe at Home, But Are They Safe Online?

By Dr. Gail Rolle-Greenidge
Lecturer in Computer Science

The University of the West Indies, Five Islands Campus

Cybersecurity discussions often focus on banks, businesses and government systems. We rarely talk about the child on a tablet, the teenager being blackmailed through a private message, or the nine-year-old who
thinks an online gaming buddy is a real friend.

We should. This Cybersecurity Awareness Month, every parent and guardian should ask:

Who is really in the room with my child?

Our parents taught us not to talk to strangers, accept gifts from people we did not know, or go anywhere without permission. Those lessons still hold. What has changed is where the stranger stands.

They no longer wait at the school gate or at the bus stop. They walk in through a gaming chat, a friend request or a private message, often pretending to be a child.

The Playground Has Changed. Has Our Parenting?

For many of our children, the internet is the playground, the entertainment centre and the social circle all at once. They play on Roblox, Minecraft and Fortnite, connect on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and WhatsApp,
and carry on the conversation on Discord long after the game ends.

These platforms have real benefits. The danger is that children meet people they are not yet mature enough to judge.

Here is how it often happens. A child gets a message from someone who says they are eleven. They play together, trade compliments and gaming rewards, and trust builds. Then the conversation moves to Discord, WhatsApp or another private app, and the questions change. Which school do you go to?

Are your parents home? Can you send me a picture?

This is online grooming: building a child’s trust in order to exploit them. It happens slowly, which is exactly why children do not see it coming.

Not everyone online is dangerous. But our children must learn that an online friend is not always who they claim to be.

The Illusion of Online Friendship

Many parents relax because their children seem to be chatting with people their own age. But profiles can be stolen, ages faked and voices disguised, and artificial intelligence now makes convincing fake photos and
identities easy to create.

A lonely or left-out child is especially at risk. Someone who offers attention, sympathy or gaming gifts can become that child’s closest confidant long before any inappropriate request is made.

Be concerned when an online contact encourages secrecy, pushes to move the conversation to another platform, or tells your child that you “wouldn’t understand.”

When the Game Becomes the Gateway

Games bring their own traps: cyberbullying, scams and exploitation. Children are offered Robux, V-Bucks or rare items in exchange for their passwords. Links promising free rewards lead to stolen accounts and unauthorised purchases.

And gaming friendships are used to pull children into private chats where parents can see even less. Age ratings, privacy settings and parental controls help but they are not a complete shield.

This Is Not a Distant Problem

Last month, UNICEF published its latest Disrupting Harm findings. Across 21 countries, including the Dominican Republic, one in five internet-using children aged 12 to 17 had experienced technology- facilitated sexual exploitation or abuse in a single year.

More than 40 per cent never told anyone. Fewer than
one per cent of cases reached the authorities. These are not figures for our islands, but nothing suggests our children are immune.

In 2023 alone, the US-based National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received 26,718 reports of financial sextortion, where someone threatens to release intimate images unless the victim pays money or
sends more.

Boys and girls are both targets. A teenager shares an image with someone they believe is a peer, and the threats begin: pay up, or this goes to your friends, your classmates, your family.

With AI, a child does not even need to have shared anything. Manipulated images can falsely show a child in compromising situations.

These dangers do not only find children who take risks. Sometimes, all it takes is misplaced trust. Watch What We Share, Too

In small Caribbean communities, it does not take much to identify a child. A school uniform, a photo outside the family home, a sports jersey or a location tag can reveal where a child studies, lives and plays.

No one needs a home address; a handful of ordinary posts paints the picture.
Before posting photos of prize-giving, birthdays or graduations, ask who can see them, and who could download, alter or pass them on.

Before we teach our children to protect their digital footprints, we must examine the footprints we are creating for them.

Warning Signs Parents Should Not Ignore

Children often stay quiet. They fear losing their devices, being blamed or being embarrassed.

Some have been threatened into silence.
Watch for:
 Unusual secrecy about online conversations, or screens quickly hidden when you walk in.
 Anxiety, withdrawal or distress after using a device.
 Unexplained gaming credits, digital gifts or money.
 Private conversations with unknown people, especially late at night.
 Reluctance to go to school after online harassment.
 Pressure to share photos, personal details or passwords.

None of these signs proves exploitation. But each one deserves a calm, non-judgmental conversation.

The goal is to make it safe for your child to tell you.

What Every Caribbean Parent Can Do

Know the platforms. Explore the games, apps and chat services your child uses. Check the privacy settings and parental controls and find out who can contact your child.

Set age-appropriate boundaries. Young children should not have unrestricted access to social media or private messaging. Respect age limits, use supervised settings and review contact lists regularly.

Teach children to spot manipulation. Explain that strangers may pretend to be children, offer gifts, ask for secrets or pressure them for information. Practise how to say no, block and report.

Protect accounts and devices. Use unique passwords, turn on multifactor authentication, install updates, and ignore any link that promises free gaming rewards.

Keep talking. Talking about their online life should be as ordinary as asking about their school day.

Have a plan. If your child is threatened, bullied or sent an inappropriate request, they should stop responding and tell a trusted adult. Save the evidence, report the account through the platform, and contact the police or child-protection authorities if you suspect exploitation or a crime.

Never forward intimate images of a minor, even to prove abuse.
Most importantly, do not punish a child for coming forward. The fear of losing a mobile device is enough to keep a child silent.

Ask the Harder Questions
This month, do not just ask how long your child was online;
Ask what happened there.
Ask who they spoke with.
Ask what they shared.
Ask whether anyone made them uncomfortable.
And make sure they know that no online mistake, threat or embarrassment is too big to bring to you.
Locking the front door is no longer enough. The question is not whether your child is safe at home. It is
whether your child is safe online at home.
This Cybersecurity Awareness Month, let us raise children who are not only digitally connected, but digitally aware, confident and protected.