In everyone’s life, there are moments when you don’t know what to do. Have you experienced violence, lost a loved one, or just long for someone to talk to? You are not alone in this. Many children and young people, but also adults, use online chats and forums to talk about their grief. In a chat, you can communicate with other people over the Internet by writing with them. This works much like emailing, but is a little faster.
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Quick Help, Advice And Action – Chats Against Grief
Chats for children should always be moderated. This also applies to grief chats. By the way, moderation means that a neutral person is reading the chat and can intervene in the event of insults or disputes.
The following chats are best suited for you and can serve as a first point of contact for worries and problems.
griefchat.com
You do not have to register for this chat. What’s especially great is that you’ll meet contacts here who have been previously selected to help others. Although these contact persons are there voluntarily, they still had to apply for this position. They are at least 18 years old, speak German and already have experience in dealing with people in difficult situations. You are definitely in good hands here!
kika.de/kummerkasten/index.html
The Kummerkasten service of the Kinderkanal is not a chat in the true sense of the word. Here you can write to experienced advisors by e-mail about your problems. They will provide you with detailed tips and help you, no matter what your worries are. The Kika team also has its own telephone line where you can get advice. You can reach the advisors at 0800/111 0 333 (Germany-wide) or 116 111 (Europe-wide).
jugendnotmail.de
For children and young people up to the age of 19, the team of the free online counseling service Jugend Notmail is available. The counselors of this service must have a university degree in psychology or education, so they are knowledgeable experts.
On the homepage of the service you can see how many emergency calls there are at the moment. They are processed in order. So you may have to wait a while. The response from the counselors will provide you with more information about your rights and options.
neuhland.beranet.info
You have read correctly! This site is not called Neuland, but Neuhland. On this page, you will also only meet certified consultants. On the right third of the page you will see a list of appointments from which you can choose. Once you have decided on an appointment, you can have a one-on-one conversation with a consultant. In the chat you can discuss everything that is important to you.
youth.bke-beratung.de/
There are regular group chats on specific topics. Anyone who has registered on the portal can participate. By the way, registration is completely free. Just try it out by looking at the announcements on the homepage and joining the chat on the respective date. This chat is also subject to fixed rules and is moderated by professionals.
Secure passwords – this is how you protect yourself from profile theft
Even if you register for a grief chat, you should choose a secure password. The following tips will help you to choose a password that is not easily cracked.
- Find a combination of letters and characters that you can remember easily.
- Do not use personal data like date of birth or similar.
- Also use double letters or letters that occur several times in a row.
- Double and multiple digits are also helpful.
- Symbols like – * # make your password even more secure. However, these are not always allowed. Just try it out!
- Your password should be at least 8 characters long (letters, numbers, symbols).
- A good password also contains both upper and lower case letters.
Of course, a password is only safe if you don’t share it with anyone. Even your best friends should not know your password.
Besides a secure password, virus scanners and firewalls as well as anti-spyware programs are essential to protect you from malicious spying.
Cyberbullying – What Is It?
The grief chats you’ve already read about in this article are safe spaces where no one is allowed to abuse the other.
However, this does not apply to social networks (e.g. Facebook), or children’s chats and forums that are not moderated. Here it can happen that someone disfigures a photo of you or spreads untruths about you.
These taunts over the Internet are called cyberbullying. They are prohibited by law and can be reported to the police. For perpetrators or parents, this can have serious consequences in the form of penalties.
Nevertheless, it unfortunately happens again and again that children are bullied on the Internet. But that’s no reason to hide and let the perpetrators continue. If you are affected by cyberbullying, there is help for you.
Cyberbullying – What Can I Do About It?
Children who observe other children being teased on the Internet should first talk to their parents about it. Don’t try to get directly involved in arguments or call the perpetrators names. This will only make things worse.
It is better to tell the parents of the perpetrators. Talk to a teacher about it if the perpetrator goes to class with you.
If you yourself are a victim of cyberbullying, you can turn to one of the grief chats. Also, even if you are a victim, be sure to talk about it with your parents or an adult you trust. Older children can also help you take action against the perpetrators.
If you want, you can read our article on cyberbullying. You can find it on our homepage.
Worksheet For The Text
1) Explain the difficult words in the text.
What does…
- moderated
- Cyberbullying
- Chat
2) Choose one of the grief chats and take a close look at the homepage of the chat. What do you like? What could be improved? Write down some notes and introduce the chat to the person sitting next to you.
3) What tips for creating a secure password could you remember? Write them down here.
4) What is cyberbullying? Share what you remembered with another child in the class.
Photo: soloway / bigstockphoto.com
