Have you met Schlep?
A few months ago I was watching an episode of the Shawn Ryan Show with my husband and we watched the episode #284. In this episode, Shawn hosts a young man known as Schlep in the online youtube and gaming community. Schlep talks about his experience with Roblox and the massive battle he is fighting to remove predators from the online community of Roblox and how he is navigating that very dangerous legal battle. Shawn, as can be expected, was nearly horrified at the material Schlep was telling him was available on Roblox and why it is so important to do the work he is doing and how to protect kids online.
If you've known me for any length of time, or read any of my blogs or parent website posts, you know this is an extremely important matter to me and my family.
So I did some more reading. And parents, you need to know Schlep too. Especially going into the summer seasons.
First, your homework assignment is to watch the Shawn Ryan Show, episode #284. Please watch it in its entirety. Break it up into pieces if you have to. And I recommend watching it if you can because some of the visual content is helpful to see, however you can listen to it wherever you find your podcasts.
Next, look at what your kids are involved with online. If its Roblox, sit down and go through it with them. Take the time to get to know who they're talking to, what games they're playing, how much access they have, and lock it down if you have to. We are not just talking about a risky game, we are talking about actual predators in your living room, or even in your child's bedroom. And I know that sounds dramatic, but its true. If you think about the conversations they could have over chat and the location of your child's devices when they play, its as if you opened their bedroom door to the world.
Finally, have those tough conversations with your child about being safe online. Look at everything they do online and talk to them about it. How can they keep themselves safe? What can they do to keep their friends safe? What do they do if someone they don't know starts talking to them online or tries to send them photos they aren't comfortable with? Have a plan of action just like you would for a fire in the house or calling 911.
Here are some helpful links for you to learn more about Schlep, online safety, and have tools you can use right now at your fingertips.
Our goal as parents is to raise our kids to be healthy, happy, and safe. This is just another way to do that!