Stella Damasus

Today is supposed to be a happy day, it’s supposed to be a day were we celebrate our children but we (Nigeria) still have over 200 children missing.

I have decided to put myself in the place of those mothers and wonder how they would feel today, when everybody is celebrating children’s day and their own children are not with them. I really wonder how they feel, I wonder how they cope!

So today I’m not saying Happy Children’s with true happiness from within me. I am actually praying for these women, these men and for their children to come back safely. Then can we can have a children’s day that is Happy!

For now, there is really nothing happy about today.

{ Stella Damasus Speaks on Abducted Nigerian Girls #BringBackOurGirls: http://youtu.be/14aIPhZUytA?a }

The woman who gave birth to my humble self. She is a strong and brave woman who has been there for me through thick and thin, she is my hero. No one can ever really understand what she has done for me and who she has been to me. She is more than a mother, she is my best friend and number one fan. I can't thank her enough for the love, support and friendship she has given me even when I know I didn't deserve it. God bless you now and always mummy and I know that daddy is in heaven smiling down at you and thanking you for all you have continued to do for us.  Happy birthday "FINE GAL".

"Warning to all parents with children that have any electronic devices, eg. Ipod, Tablets,phones etc. There is an app called Talking Angela. This app asks kids personal questions like their names, where they go to school and also takes pictures of their faces by pushing a heart on the bottom left corner of the device without any notices this information can then be used for kidnapping and child pornography. Please check all children's devices to make sure they don't have this app and also talk to them about the dangers of it. Please pass this to family,friends and other Parents.
Important Message for every girl who goes to college or office alone. If you find any child crying on the road showing his/her address and asking you to take him/her to that address, take that child to the police station and please don't take them to that address. It is a way of gangs to steal, rape & kidnap girls. Please Forward it all. Our message may save a girl."

I saw this in my mail and as usual I got worried and started doing research on it. Some people believe this is really a big issue especially in America, while some say it's a hoax, just the way some people are saying that the over 200 girls that were abducted by the Boko Haram group is a hoax.



As far as I am concerned, anything at all that can make my children give out personal information to an app is not safe. We have all fallen for a lot of internet scams and traps without even realizing it.  Too much information is required for you to download things or join something.

I personally believe that whether you think talking Angela is a hoax or not, you still need to have that conversation with your children who have their own electronic devices.

A lot of people thought I was too old fashioned and uninformed when I spoke about my children and social media in an episode of "Stella Damasus diaries" on YouTube. They said I was being too strict with my children but I didn't mind the criticisms at all. However, I stood my ground and made my children understand why. Let me do what I think is right for my own children and you deal with yours. It will not stop me from sharing tips and ideas on what has worked for me so far, so that those who find them useful can use it to help themselves and their children.

I still believe that your children who are not mature enough should not be exposed to social media. Even when they have their own devices you have to know what apps they have in them, I try to learn about every app on my children's phones and even know how they work. I ask them questions everyday and get them to teach me what they know. The best way to get around this is by making them believe that they are teaching you something you don't know, that way they are comfortable enough to share with you. It's also a great way to spend time together and bond.

Sometimes we feel these things cannot happen to our children because of the way we have raised them, but the truth is that no matter how honest, well behaved and good your children are, they can innocently fall into a trap by thinking they are playing  a game from an app their friends told them about.

There is an app for everything in the world you can think of and we all believe these things are created to help make life easier. I am not saying that it is not true, I am just saying that we depend on these things so much that we even trust them to help our children solve their problems because we are too busy to give them attention.

Please do not allow the internet replace you as parents,
Do not allow the internet be the only teacher your children know at home,
Do not allow the internet become their best friend and confidant,
Do not allow the internet build their minds and turn them into things that we cannot handle when they become teenagers,
Do not allow the internet take over your home.
Pay attention to what your children are doing, the kind of games they are playing, the kind of apps they are downloading, the kind of songs and videos they are interested in and the kind of searches they go into everyday.
They are worth the time and trouble.




{ Stella Damasus Speaks on Abducted Nigerian Girls #BringBackOurGirls: http://youtu.be/14aIPhZUytA?a  }





 
It's not who people say you are, it's who God says you are.