#child-safety

#child-safety

Last week, OpenAI said it cut off the toymaker FoloToy's access to its AI models after the AI-powered teddy bear "Kumma," which ran GPT-4o, was found giving responses that were wildly inappropriate for children - including discussing sexual fetishes, and giving instructions on how to find knives and light matches. The move signaled that the ChatGPT-maker was clearly concerned about how its business customers, especially ones selling products for children, were using its tech, or at least how these efforts looked.

Following a spate of lawsuits and investigations over its child safety systems, Roblox is going to implement mandatory facial verification for all users who want to access communication features, starting in January. The platform is also introducing age-based chat, meaning users can only communicate with others in a similar age group. Starting Tuesday, users can voluntarily verify their age to secure their access to communication features.

Every two and a half minutes, a child is reported missing in the UK. The reasons are complex, but the risks can be grave. Myths about what to do when a child goes missing persist and can delay crucial action at the moment it's most needed. The Independent and the charity Missing People are aiming to raise 165,000 to launch SafeCall, a free new service to help the 70,000 children reported missing each year find support and safety, no matter what.

If you've got a restless child on your hands, getting to a playground can be a welcome relief. Your kid can run off some steam and find other kids to play with, and you may even get a moment to yourself to sit on a bench and relax. But the peace of playgrounds depends on a delicate ecosystem in which all the adults tacitly agree to the same codes of conduct, both for their children and themselves. One person's rude behaviour can sour the experience for everybody - and no one wants to be that parent.

Forcing children to accept unwanted affection can send a harmful message, according to Karen Days, the former president of the Center for Family Safety and Healing at Nationwide Children's Hospital. Days explained that this kind of forced affection can teach children the wrong lesson: that people they know are always allowed to touch them. She pointed out that while parents often emphasize "stranger danger," they don't always stress that familiar adults must also respect personal boundaries.

Looking back at the past five years since I began in the role of national children's commissioner, I am struck by how difficult it has been throughout this time to get political attention on the unmet needs of our most vulnerable children, who continue to be left behind. Far too many of these children end up in the overwhelmed child protection and justice systems because of poverty, disabilities, health and learning problems, discrimination and disadvantage.

My son was very excited to hear that the chatbot thought Ronaldo was the better soccer player, said Farah Nasser, a former journalist and broadcaster.

"I feel very suspicious of the area now," echoed Ramirez, 40, who has a 14-year-old daughter. "We know that many kids tell their moms, 'Mama, we want to go to the park now,' and then the kids go alone. What will happen if there's a predator? The kids don't know how to defend themselves. We thought it was safe, but I don't feel secure anymore."

Here's how it works: First, plug the Sleek Socket cover into the top plug on your outlet. A thin white wire leads from the socket cover to a power strip, which is where all of your plugs will go before being tucked away behind a small appliance, large piece of furniture, or another item. Every Sleek Socket includes an adhesive kit to securely fasten the white wire to the wall and create a neat, streamlined look (and reviewers say it's renter-friendly).

James Moyles (33) was hit and thrown into the air, but four-year-old Cróia did not suffer any significant injuries

5. A potty ladder for helping kids independently use the potty at home. Now they can climb up the porcelain throne like the mature kids they are and you can save your poor back muscles from hoisting them up there.