A panel of governors who met last week for the annual meeting of the National Governors Association were told that "vigilant parents and well-educated children remain the first line of defense against online predators". Experts added that social networking sites were toughening standards and police are becoming more adept at handling online crime; but if the parents are not involved with what their children are doing online, children are still in great danger.
Richard Wistocki, an Internet crimes investigator with the police department in Naperville, Illinois says that parents of victims in child predator cases often tell him "I never thought my kid would take a picture of herself naked, leave with somebody they met online, all those things." He adds that "if the parent doesn't go and check, how do you know?" Wistocki advises that parents "go online themselves and keep track of what their children are doing".
Miss America Lauren Nelson was a speaker for the Governors' event. Nelson made online safety her platform because of her own experience and that of her friends with an online predator sending them inappropriate photographs when she was 13. "The best way to police the Internet is to do it from our side of the keyboard", Nelson told the panel.
Posing as a teenager in online chat rooms, Nelson took part in an April sting operation that led to charges against 11 men. She announced last month she would tour the nation with a security software company to promote the issue.
"Law enforcement agencies are becoming more technologically proficient in the fight against cyberspace child stalkers", New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte said during the Governor meeting. "But they alone can't solve a problem so widespread that 1 in 5 kids who use the Internet are believed to have been approached by a predator. This is an issue that we're not going to arrest our way out of,"
It's a problem "far bigger than any of us realize," said Gov. Brad Henry of Oklahoma.
If you are beginning to feel like your children know more about the online world than you do, it's no wonder that you're concerned about keeping them safe. There are many steps that you can take to protect your children and to direct their online behavior so they present themselves correctly. Here are five important places to start.
1. The first step you should take is to ban computers from your children's bedrooms. The entire family should use a common desktop computer that is in a well-trafficked area in the house. Keeping the computer (and your children) in sight will help minimize where they visit online and what type of activities they can take part in. Limiting their computer time is also a good way to keep them safe. A child that is on for an hour per day, rather than four or six, can get in a lot less trouble.
2. Set some ground rules with your children for their Internet use. For example, many parents allow their children to have their own e-mail address but only if the parents have the passwords. When you use the computer you can double check that this rule is being followed by checking the history and making sure no unauthorized email addresses are being used.
3. One of the most popular sites these days is Myspace. Myspace is a social networking community that brings people together from all walks of life. It's also become a popular place for teens and preteens to meet one another and bond after school. You can make sure your children are staying safe by building their Myspace account with them. This way, you know the password and you can check in on the account from time to time. Make sure that you communicate to them the importance of limiting their communication to friends only. There are many spam programs that will ask to be your child's friend, and then expose them to inappropriate material. If your children only accept friend requests from people that they know in real life, this cuts down on their exposure.
4. Make sure that your attempts to keep them safe aren't all punitive. You can prevent a lot of problems by getting involved in your child's online life. Visit websites together and let them show you where they like to "hang out" online. Encourage them to tell you about their online friends and how they spend their time online. If you are a part of their world, you'll know exactly what they've been up to and whether they are following your ground rules or not.
5. If you need to, you can take your level of parental protection to the next level with a professional monitoring software that will tell you just exactly where they have been. This type of software can also limit their usage to specific sites. This can be very helpful if your child is young.
Protecting your child online is easy if you involve yourself in what they are doing from the start. Interacting with your child and the Internet in a friendly way when they are 10 is a lot easier than cracking down on bad online usage when they are 16. Just like with all other parenting areas, it's better to try to prevent problems first.
Both Angela Edwards & Jamie Jefferson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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