Online Predators – Are You Alert?
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This morning I heard an official from Hillsborough County Schools (Tampa and surrounding) say that in elementary schools with 500 to 700 students, they are lucky is 15 parents show up for classes on internet safety.
Parents, how seriously are you considering the epidemic of online predators?
Your children are in real danger if they surf the net alone. Chat rooms and social networking sites are very popular with teens, because the social aspects of the internet are what they enjoy the most. I can understand that. The predators understand it as well, though. Those looking to exploit the trusting nature of children are becoming increasingly aggressive. Your kid does not have to be a “bad kid” to fall for the ministrations of an adult looking for sexual gratification or other criminal activity.
I am of the personal belief that it is not out of the question to track the movements of your child online. There is software you can use to do this and it seems to me that it is a great safety net to have in place. Of course, ideally you would want to have the sort of relationship with your child that allows open conversation and supervised internet time, but that cannot always be a reality.
A lesson should be taken after this week’s abduction of a 15-year-old Florida girl by a 46-year-old sex offender with a violent criminal history. The man is still at large and armed with a handgun, according to the girl (who is safely home with her family).
If you are going to allow your child to have a MySpace page, please encourage them to add myspace.com/kidscomefirstnc as a friend. This is an internet watchdog entity and can act as a layer of protection for your child. In the very least, having this as one of the top friends may deter a predator.
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