UNICEF session on child health and safety

Residential students from grades 6-9 took part in an information session by Mr. David Raj, the State Programme Manager, Child Protection Unit, UNICEF and CDAC on puberty, adolescence and cyber safety on Friday 7th December 2018. Read one student's feedback on the session below. 

The session on cyber safety was really productive and helpful. It highlighted the consequences of not being aware of what and how cyber bullying takes place. It created awareness of how small mistakes that we as youngsters make, can cause serious attempts of manipulation of our families for various purposes. Posting images and live locations on social media is one such example. Mr. Raj not only spoke of challenges but also provided solutions and means to stay protected from any kind of cyber crime, such as changing your password fortnightly and using special symbols while setting your password. Another way of preventing viruses on your device that could lead to cyber bullying, is to use trusted websites, which say “https”. 

Moving forward, we discussed a topic which not all of us are really comfortable with: adolescence and safety around adults and with each other. The UNICEF specialised team made it easier to talk about and understand certain concepts. Many of the regular questions we have in our mind were answered, in a way that was effective and convincing. They told us about natural comfort zones, and how we should respect them, and how to identify between touches that were appropriate vs. those that were inappropriate. Topics like hygiene were also discussed.

We also spoke of the period that we as individuals go through known as puberty. The speakers advised us about websites that might be unsafe, and that we should use the Internet under adult supervision. We also understood that we should seek advice about things we are experiencing from trusted adults, as not all the information on the net is authorised and legitimate. I think it was a very informative session. I hope this will enable us to be more knowledgeable of what’s correct and what could cause trouble to young individuals such as ourselves. 

Written by Nabil Narsidani, grade 8