Waukesha School Holds Presentation to Protect Teens Online

Parents packed the auditorium at Butler Middle School in Waukesha on Wednesday night.
 
"This is the largest group of parents we've had at a presentation yet," said Sgt. Jerry Habanek with the Waukesha Police Department.

The parents that attended learned about what happens when their child is online. The presentation was called "Protecting Your Teen in the Digital Age." Students at the middle school went through a parallel presentation this week.

Just last month a group of Waukesha High School students were busted for a sexting ring. Sgt. Habanek says it was uncovered because the police department was being proactive.

"We do uncover things that may not be uncovered in other communities. It's not that the City of Waukesha is a bad place. It's not that the teens here do anything different than any other teens. It's that we have the means to detect it," said Habanek.

He says parents should know their children's social media usernames and passwords. Checking what they're looking at could prevent sexting or cyberbullying. If kids aren't safe online now, it may affect the rest of their life.

"They call themselves survivors because after that bad event it's very impactful that they need to get help after that. These things aren't fun and games," said Habanek.

Habanek urges teens to be aware of their online presence. He says there's an easy way to make sure the right actions and words are being used online. It's called "The Mom Test."

"What would my mom think if I put this photo out there. What would my mom think if I made this comment. I call it a mom test, and if mom's okay with it it's probably okay," said Habanek.

There are also safeguards to put in place when your child uses technology. Police say you can block Certain apps, explicit content, or even the Internet on most devices.


 

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