“Child online protection cannot be effectively done without parental involvement, therefore parents must make sure online safety becomes a lifestyle in the home.”

The Executive Director of Child Online Africa, a civic child protection organisation, Ms Awo Aidam Amenya who made the call in an interview with the Ghanaian Times yesterday, stated that though government had roles to play when it came to the implementation of policies to protect children in the digital environment, everybody had a role to play in ensuring that.

“Protection of children when it comes to the digital environment has a lot to do with everybody’s commitment not only government.

“Much as I agree that government has the responsibility to create and promote a sort of enabling environment for the technology operators to provide appropriate and relevant solutions for consumers.

A lot also depends on stakeholders like parents who are the first gatekeepers in a child’s life,” Ms Amenya added.

Explaining further, she said the media should also be deliberate at ensuring that the promotion of content, which goes to victimise or abuse children in their quest to report with evidence, should stop.

She commended parents for sacrificing to get their children certain digital devices but was quick to add that the children should be monitored closely regarding the use of such powerful tools and the dangers they could be exposed to while using them.

According to Ms Amenya, once you purchase a device for your child you have a greater responsibility of ensuring how he or she could put it to good use.

Touching on some ways to further encourage online safety for children, she said it was important for children to understand what was going on in the digital space and what they could be exposed to whiles exploring.