The Internet this day and age has changed to appeal to many new demographics. Children of all ages are able to access the Internet and communicate with outside sources. It is necessary that parents exercise caution when deciding what sites to allow there children on. Internet is a huge danger to children's safety and we will discuss how to monitor this usage for their protection against sexual predators online.
The main three ways that children are contacted by predators are by chat room, email, and instant messaging. On the website, http://www.protectkids.com/dangers/onlinepred.htm, there are some frightful percentages that every parent should know. There are over 13 million children between the ages of 10 and 17 years old that use chat rooms and instant messaging. 1 out of every 5 of these children have likely been contacted by a sexual predator. Also, 89% of solicitation occurs on instant messaging. For these sole reasons it is necessary for the parent to monitor their children's activity, and here are some tips to do so.
Under the section IM/Chatroom tips, it outlines some helpful tips for parents to monitor chat room use. here are some of the most helpful tips. Set your computer in a room where you can watch your child's activities. Block instant messages from people you and your child don't know. The biggest tip is to realize that chat rooms and instant messaging are the playgrounds for sexual predators. it gives them the security that no one knows their true identity, which is a scary thing. So parents, be cautious and protect our youth.
With everything that is coming up in the news lately about sexual predators, hopefully parents are realizing that they need to become more involved with watching their children's internet use. One of the easiest ways to do this is to block websites that you allow your kids to see. Also, pay attention to your kids! Don't just let them sit on the computer and surf the web for hours at a time.
ReplyDeleterealizing this is easier said than done because parents see the computer and tv as a baby sitter. Also putting the computer in a public place so parents can view whats going on. also these days children seem to outsmart their parents so the parents need to educate themselves on privacy issues to protect themselves and their children
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