{"id":7391,"date":"2023-01-23T17:13:12","date_gmt":"2023-01-23T17:13:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gatlabs.com\/education\/?p=7391"},"modified":"2026-03-23T16:07:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T16:07:53","slug":"child-protection-tips-every-school-admin-needs-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gatlabs.com\/education\/blog\/child-protection-tips-every-school-admin-needs-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Online Child Protection Tips Every School Admin Needs to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"

Internet challenges scare not only children but also, and sometimes especially, their parents. Online c<\/span>hild protection is your mission as a Google Workspace for Education Admin.<\/span><\/p>\n

Scary Internet Challenges for Kids<\/h2>\n

130 children committed suicide in Russia between November 2015 and April 2016, probably due to participating in the <\/span>Blue Whale Challenge<\/span><\/a>. Fifty tasks to be completed in 50 days, each scarier than the other, have been spread from an online game through Vkontakte chat rooms and the internet.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2019, some YouTube videos for kids <\/span>were infiltrated by a spooky Momo doll<\/span><\/a>, which encouraged children to do self-harming activities. A year earlier, the <\/span>Momo Challenge<\/span><\/a>, similar to the Blue Whale suicide challenge game, was shared via WhatsApp.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another game character, called <\/span>Huggy Wuggy<\/span><\/a>, began scaring children online in 2022. The blue toy with a terrifying toothy smile that wants to give a scary hug first appeared in the Poppy Playtime game, next on YouTube and other social media as viral, and, finally, in reality, as a true toy. <\/span>Reports link Huggy Wuggy to children trying to jump out of the window<\/span><\/a> to die and come back to life as the character did.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Huggy<\/a>The Huggy Wuggy toys<\/p>\n

I was wondering what “huggy wuggy” was! My students run out onto the playground every day yelling who’s Huggy Wuggy?! It never made sense but I thought nothing of it as they are playing tag. Oh boy. They are constantly playing games related to a show or game. It is NEVER a normal game. They take the garden tool play set and use them as knives to chase each other. It’s really scary when you think about it, <\/span><\/i>said one of the teachers.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Enough has been said to believe that monitoring kids\u2019 activity on the internet is crucial today, right? Online child protection must be a priority for teachers, parents, and you, K12 Admin.<\/span><\/p>\n

CIPA Compliance<\/h2>\n

Surely you know that your school must comply with <\/span>CIPA (Children\u2019s Internet Protection Act)<\/span><\/a> in the US. This law requires you to ensure that you protect your students from all harmful and inappropriate content and practices when using electronic devices at school. The Internet safety policy must block or filter online access to pictures that are obscene, child pornography, or harmful to minors.<\/span><\/p>\n

Want to find out more about compliance with this law using Google Workspace for Education? Learn more on <\/span>this blog post<\/span><\/a>. You can also find technical tips on how to become CIPA-compliant in <\/span>our Knowledge Base.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not just pictures that can cause great damage to children\u2019s minds. While there are a lot of tools to block porn, how to save students from the seemingly not-so-obvious threats, such as the games or messages you have read about at the beginning of the article?<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s in your hands to prevent this type of situation. Ready to take a few notes? Let\u2019s take a look at how to support kids\u2019 internet safety policy at your school.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chrome Browsing Activity Monitoring<\/h2>\n

The best starting point for creating a protective barrier against online threats for children is to monitor their Chrome browsing activity. <\/span>Google Safe Search mode<\/span><\/a>, which hides search results containing explicit violence or sexual content, is just the first and mandatory step toward child online safety.<\/span><\/p>\n

If your students repeatedly enter inappropriate or unsafe websites, or you want to protect children from, for example, harmful challenges described on specific pages, block access to them in bulk. To activate URL filtering, you can use <\/span>Google Admin Console<\/span><\/a>, but if you are looking for a more detailed URL blocking feature, use<\/span> Site Access Control<\/span><\/a>\u00a0by <\/span>GAT Shield<\/span><\/a>. It allows you to customize the Chrome filtering to any user or group.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Use<\/a><\/p>\n

GAT Shield<\/span><\/a> detects any search for self-harm content, tracks browser history, and sees where a student spent the most time online. And it will warn you of the danger and allow you to react on time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn more about how to see all the search results using GAT Shield <\/span>on our Knowledge Base.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n