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What’s wrong with letting my child use online chat programs? You might think that this is a useless
question. But the fact of the matter is that our kids are in just as much danger in chat rooms as they are
in a busy mall. The crime rate of Internet predators is increasing. As parents we are responsible for
protecting our kids from these crimes. We owe it to our kids. We as parents need to use caution when
allowing our kids to use chat programs. In the end you will learn ways of doing just that. Also you will be
more aware of the dangers they face while they are Online. Just remember there are ways of protecting
them from online predators and adult contented chat rooms and web sites.

In an article by Greg Keizer from PC World Magazine he quotes , “It’s important to know that online
predators often use children’s chat rooms” According to the FBI computer crimes unit spokes person
Angela Bell “They pass themselves off as a child in hopes of getting personal information from them.”
And according to Jenny Hoff of Kxan.com predators are targeting a certain age group of not just girls but
boys as well by using their personal profiles to gather information about the child they are targeting. He
also goes on to state that before monitoring your child think about what you need to accomplish. Also
consider the consequences. Your child may feel you don’t trust them and they also may feel you are
invading their privacy.

Some of the things I do is to set limits to the amount of time my kids are online. By allowing them to
use the Internet but only in short times I can keep track of what they are doing at all times. I also only let
them on sites that I explore first. If they can’t give me the web address first then they don’t use it. I
never allow them to use their personal information to register for sites. If the site needs to be
registered, I am the one that does it. My Child’s names are not listed when they log in. And they are
never to reply to emails and IM’s from people they do not know.

There are also programs that you can download to help in protecting your kids. They are not free but
the cost is worth keeping them safe. By using web filtering programs and password protected blocks
you kids can’t log into sites that aren’t approved for the age content. And they also allow you to keep
track of the sites they have visited or tried to visit.
The Internet is an important part of our kids’ education. We can’t keep them from Internet access but
we can help in protecting them while they are online. By knowing that the dangers are real is the first
step in doing that. Sebastian Rupley from PC Magazine, talks about MSN service shut down its chat
rooms in 28 countries in 2003 partly because of the concerns of online predators preying on minors. 24
percent of all U.S. teens surveyed about chat rooms said that they have been contacted by a stranger
online who tried to set up an off-line meeting with them.

Another step in the protection of our kids is knowledge. Knowing who our kids talk to and how often
they communicate with them is important. I only allow my sons to talk to kids that are in their school
and only at times I am home. Kids get approached all the time by people they don’t know and my sons
know that they never respond to any type of contact by strangers and if they receive a message from
someone they don’t know they close out without responding. If they get a message that is not
appropriate they know to tell me or their dad. We contact the computer crimes unit and report the
content. Thankfully we haven’t ever had to report any such activity. But many do need to contact them
for this purpose.

Part of the knowledge is knowing what is and what isn’t appropriate. And knowing who to report this activity to. There are web sites you can visit to report these types of activity to as well as your local law enforcement agency. One site is
Cybertipline.com
. They do investigate every claim reported to
them.

We do so much to protect our kids away from home we never think we have to protect them from
thing they do at home. But now the same crimes that happen in real life exist online. In one from or
another, our kids have access to things that we keep them from everyday. Even if you don’t think they
are. With the Internet being part of the educational system now it has become even more of a threat to
them. Know what they are being taught. By communicating with your child’s school and knowing what
they are teaching them we can better understand the thing they are accessing online.

Most schools send home an Internet guidelines pamphlet for you to read. If not you can contact the
school and speak to the teacher. As a parent its your right to know what your kids are being taught. One
thing I do and encourage is open communication with each teacher your child has. Not only does it give
you a better understanding of what is expected of your child it also give the school a better
understanding of what you expect of them. Schools use filtering and tracking programs to help protect
the students from any online activity that isn’t deemed appropriate. So in a way they are safer at school
then they are at home.

Also I have learned that the school my sons attend block chat. They also monitor the activity of our
kids. They use tracking programs that only school officials have access to so you don’t have to worry
that your child is doing something inappropriate. Also if your child was to be threatened the school calls
in law enforcement. So while at school your child is completely safe from cyber harm.

In conclusion it is our jobs as parents to protect our kids. With all the available resources we have
there isn’t any reason for our kids to fall victim to cyber crimes. Just knowing what our kids are doing
and who our kids talk to online. We can keep them safe. And by keeping them safe our future and theirs
is insured. So Know and keep track of them and it will make it harder for online predators to have access
to them.