So you have gone out and purchased yourself a computer. Now as an adult and a
parent you are going to learn all you can about computers and just what is out
there. Why because your in Cyberspace.Welcome, You have just logged on to a
Pedophiles playground. Behind the computer sits a faceless friend, a 29 year
old man or woman posing as a twelve year old child looking to befriend your
lonely child who is using your computer. He or she thinks that because they are
on the computer that they are untraceable and untouchable.
There are sexual predators that have developed techniques in attempting to
attract children. As a parent it is your job to stop such contact by educating
your child of the dangers. Pedophiles are surfing the internet 24 hours a day
looking for under age prey and they don't start out with sexual comments.
Instead a pedophile will work their way into your child’s life by befriending
the child. They want to become someone that your child can trust. These
predators are perfect at manipulation and they know just what buttons to push.
Any time a child can log on to a chat program like I.C.Q or AOL and be band
barded with messages from grown men and women wanting to chat. After a form of
trust is established between the child and adult, they will start with
compliments, they might offer them gifts, offer to call them and be a
sentimental caring friend. You should always be tuned into any negative behavior
in your child.
At one point the pedophile will test the situation by sending your child
explicated images or engage in sexual conversation to see how they respond.
After some time they will arrange a meeting with your child. Often times the
child will feel they have fallen in love with this individual. Internet Sex
Crimes are On the Rise. Last year in the United States, the initiative
prosecuted 865 subjects and shut down 2,638 child pornography Web sites,
according to the FBI. Jan 7th 2005 in Brandon Manitoba police were going from
school to school, warning parents and children about a sexual predator who has
infiltrated the Internet chat contact lists of several local children. Read
about the growing number of internet sex crimes on the rise
here.
Don't say that it can't happen to your child. If you have children it is your
right to protect them. If they were going to a friend’s house you would want to
no where their friend lived, who the friend was and when they would be home. If
you are a wise parent you have a list of your children's friends numbers in a
book, therefore the internet should be no different. As a parent it is your
obligation to know who your child is talking to. Talk to your children about
their internet list just as you would about their offline friends. Find out how
much your child knows about the people that they are chatting with.
If you have children online how do you protect them? For one a computer
connected to the internet does not belong in your child’s bedroom. This is like
inviting a stranger into their room. Would you let a stranger come to your door
and openly invite them to see your child’s room? As parents we need to educate
our children that a 12-year-old boy could actually be a 29-year-old man or a
55-year-old woman. Make sure your children do not revile anything about
themselves such as private information, name, address, age, telephone number,
password, credit card number, etc. Encourage your children not to give out
photos of themselves. One reasoning behind this is that a photo can be easily
altered in a program such a paint shop or adobe. These pictures then get
exchange between pornographic rings. God knows where your child’s photo may end
up. It is a scary sick thought but it does happen. The same warning is given to
parents to never put your Childs photo on the internet.
Internet Filters are another good suggestion for the younger children, but
parents be advised that kids are getting smarter and your older child might just
be able to get past these internet filters such as net nanny etc.
Limit your Childs time on the internet and what sites they will visit. Parents
make sure that you are aware of any site that your child does frequent. Help
your children keep spam out of their inbox by teaching them how to BCC send when
emailing friends. Be sure to teach your kids to never reply to spam. Teach your
children of the dangerous of internet luring and child pornography. Educate them
by sharing stories in the news. Encourage your teens to come to you anytime they
feel uncomfortable about anything online. Spend time with your children online
and keep your computer in a place where you can monitor their activity. It
wouldn’t hurt to create a list of bookmarked sites that your child can visit. As
a parent learn the chat lingo, as kids will often use phrases like POS Parent
over shoulder. Teach your children to always use nicknames instead of real
names, check your children's history log and Set an administrator password on
your computer.
Childnet has an excellent Web site (www.chatdanger.com) that will educate you
the parent how to spot chat dangers.If you become aware of the
transmission, of child pornography while online, immediately report this to the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline at
1-800-843-5678 or
http://www.cybertipline.com. As a parent never take the law into your own
hands. I once thought that I could protect all the children online by doing the
job of the police. I soon learned that my job is to educate you the parent and
better protect my own children from the dangers out there by better educating myself.
For more information please visit:
Websites against child porn
http://www.wsacp.org/ Canadians Addressing Sexual Exploitation
http://www.c-a-s-e.net/ http://www.childnet-int.org/ Learn the chat lingo
http://www.cyberpatrol.com/resources/onlinelingo.aspx About the Author
Rose is a published author from Canada Ontario and is also the founder of http://www.todays-woman.net a community for men and women over 18, where writers/poets/columnists meet and exchange ideas, contest, rate and review and help each other succeed in the writing industry. Check out Rose's first poetry book "She is like the wind" and purchase poetry that is sure to be a world of emotion on a canvas that is her soul.