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We keep hearing about online predators and men meeting up with young girls for intimate liaisons and how it is becoming more and more prevalent. So what is the solution? We can spend thousands, maybe even millions of dollars tracking down these perverts or we can spend next to nothing and eliminate the situation almost entirely. This can be done with what we call supervision.  Keep in mind as you read on I am only generalizing and compiling recent stories that have made the news and know each case is different.

Many of the stories look the same. Young girl (or boy) goes into chat room, meets someone and begins talking to them; first online, then on the phone, maybe letters and pictures or even gifts are exchanged. They meet and she finds out he is old enough to be her father but by then it is too late, either she is attacked, or she has “fallen in love” with him. As a parent who raised three children with the internet I want to know where the supervision is while all this is going on. My children accused me of sometimes being controlling but I knew where they went, who they were with, who they talked to on the phone on a regular basis, and if a package came for them I wanted to know where it came from and what was in the package.  For the life of me I do not understand how some of these online relationships can go on for months without the parents being aware.

Supervising cannot be 24/7 I realize that, as I said I raised three children. But there are things you can do very easily. Put the computer in a main living area where people are always walking through (whether it goes with the décor or not), know your children’s passwords and check their email from time to time (you don’t have to read it, just check for unfamiliar names and ask them who it is – verify it if necessary), don’t allow them to go on social networking sites or into unsupervised chat rooms. Private messaging should be restricted to people they know offline and not people they met online. If you have trouble with your children using the computer when you are in bed or at work and don’t know how to password your protect your computer, take the power cord with you, it most definitely keeps them from accessing the Internet while you are away.

You can’t absolutely ensure your child will never fall victim to an online predator if you follow these steps, but they can certainly reduce the chances of it happening. Don’t be afraid of not being their friend; be afraid of someone else becoming their friend that shouldn’t.