Children on the Internet - How To Keep Them Safe
While the Internet offers a world of information for kids, it also presents great dangers
from online sexual predators. Every year, one in five children receives a sexual solicitation or
approach over the Internet. With millions of children in chat rooms and sending instant
messages, parents must take action to protect their kids.
It seems the more advanced the online technology, the more trickery there is online. It may
be hard to believe, but there are people who spend their time dreaming up ways to hack into
strangers' computers to swipe their identities and simply wreak havoc with their files. What is
even more upsetting, is that a lot of times these troublemakers target youngsters and it is not
their accounts they are looking to corrupt, but the kids themselves.
What do online predators actually do?
Basically, online predators scope out internet chat rooms, message boards, emails, and
instant messaging to find vulnerable children. When they find a likely target, they will contact
them and do whatever it takes to capture their attention and earn their trust. For example,
they will find out the child's hobbies, the kind of music they like, and they express an interest
in the kid's problems at home and at school. Then as soon as they have established a
relatively strong bond, they will change the nature of the conversation. The safe and
mundane topics of conversation will eventually become more intimate and sexual in nature.
Some warnings signs to watch for include:
 Your child may spend a crazy amount of time online.
 You are suddenly fielding phone calls from strangers who are asking to speak with
your child, or your child is suddenly receiving packages in the mail from strangers.
 Pornography pops up on the family computer.
 You notice that your child is withdrawing from his or her usual activities.
 You find out that your kid is using someone else's online account.
More than half of young people (53 percent) say their parents never ask them about whom
they are talking to on the Internet, and 55 percent say their parents never surf the Internet
with them.
Here are some Internet safety tips for parents:
1. Keep the computer in the family room or another open area of your home.
2. If children use chat or e-mail, talk to them about never meeting in person with anyone
they "met" online.
3. Know who your children are exchanging e-mail with, and only let them use chat areas
when you can supervise. Limit chat room access to child-friendly chat sites.
4. Let your children show you what they do online. Visit their favorite Web sites.
5. If you suspect online "stalking" or sexual exploitation of a child, report it to your local
law-enforcement agency
Finally, there are a lot of helpful services on the internet if your kids do wind up having
trouble online. The best advice is to deal with the problem directly and as soon as you can.
For more information, you may visit: http://tinyurl.com/mjt7zu