In view of massive negative effects of ‘Blue Whale Challenge’, all private and government schools have been issued an advisory by the Haryana State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (HSCPCR) to counsel students about the risk of this online game.
The Commission has issued guidelines for ensuring internet safety of students and to counsel them about the risk of online games, said chairperson of the Commission, Jyoti Bainda.
She said that the Commission recommended that preventive action should be taken by all schools and parents and they must educate the children about the game and its ill effects.
Blue Whale’ is a controversial internet game in which a series of tasks were given to players for a period of 50 days by the administrators with a final challenge requiring them to commit suicide, she said.
Referring to the guidelines, the chairperson said that all the schools should compulsory hold sessions for raising awareness on internet safety for children.
Child may not be admonished but should be educated about positive and negative effect of the internet. Parents and schools should take active interest in educating and informing children about the game and its features. Their curiosity and preconceived notions should be addressed and queries answered so that they do not feel any need to seek information from other sources which may or may not be reliable and authentic, she said.
Jyoti said that parents should limit the usage of apps or computer and closely monitor child access to internet. One may install effective firewalls and other safety filters in all the computers for filtering and blocking potential harmful sites.
Those working with the children should closely watch the child for any change in behavior. If the child appears withdrawn, spends long hours accessing internet, the issue should be addressed and if required, mental health experts should be consulted, said the chairperson.
Apart from this, a support system should be created for the child by building confidence with the child through the counseling sessions in schools and other interactions, she added.