Internet crimes against kids by online predators have been steadily on the rise every year for the past decade and more innocent kids are being preyed upon than ever before. Nearly everyday, the world is learning of yet another child being victimized or murdered by a stranger that they had met on the Internet and sadly, it doesn't have to continue, because there are ways parents can protect and educated their children from these dangerous online predators.
This article is being written, so to inform and share valuable and possibility lifesaving information and ideas aimed at educating parents about options that are available to help them protect their children from becoming the next Internet predator victim in the headline news.
Communication, Communication, Communication
By far, the most effective tool a parent has available to them is the power to talk to their children about the dangers of the Internet. Just having a brief face-to-face talk with your child once a day, so to learn what your child is doing and whom they are talking to online can make a world of difference in protecting them from becoming the next victim of an online predator.
Just as important as it to talk to your child about their online activities and setting a few ground rules about what they are allowed to do and what they are not allowed to do, is to listen to your child when they are talking to you. Good communication is a two-way street, and listening is as important if not more important, then talking during a conversation. It is the listening portion that the child desire most from their parents and unfortunately fewer parents are taking the time to communicate with their children these days, so their children are seeking this much needed attention on the Internet from complete strangers. This is where the online predators begins the grooming of the child and over time through this process the predator earns the trust of the child, so they can gain access of the child to victimize them. This is the reason why it is very important for parents to take some time out of their busy day to communicate with their child, so their child does not develop a craving to seek out attention that is not present in their home.
Setting Rules
It is every parent's responsibility to set ground rules for the child to follow when they surf the Internet. Teaching the child that there are dangerous people who patrol the chat rooms and social networks (Myspace, Facebook and others) looking for naive children seeking attention, so they can possibly victimize in the future. Yes, these days it is very important to be as detailed as possible when explaining what these online predators want to achieve and give some examples of how online predators try to gain the trust of the child. If you do not know this information first hand, then take the time to look it up on the Internet, because there is a wealth of information on the subject on the web.
When setting the rules keep in mind the age of the child, because older children may require less supervision than the younger children, but the parent knows their children better than anyone else and are better suited to balance the rule setting. Its not only important to set some rules regarding Internet use of a child, but just important to enforce the rules that are set. If a child breaks the rules, then there needs to be consequences for not following the rules. See, rules are needed to set boundaries that are off limits and setting consequences are need to re-enforce those boundaries. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time and effort if a parent is unwilling to exercise and carryout a punishment if a rule is broken.
Be Nosy
Remember, you are the parent of your child and not their friend and this is type of relationship is needed to steer a child away from potential dangers that they may face online. As a parent, you need to be aware of everything that your child is doing while on the Internet and that includes reading their email, checking their chat logs and having your child give you a full list of their friends that they have been chatting to and emailing. Parents need to be aware of these things, so they are better prepared to deal with any potential problems that could occur to their child.
Schedule Internet Time
Depending on the age of the child, it is a very good idea to schedule Internet time for the child. Children are spending more and more time surfing the web than ever before and that is not good or healthy for them. Children need to be involved in other social activities besides the surfing the Internet to develop social skills needed in real life and the Internet, just cannot provide any in-depth social skills within the child, because actual face-to-face interaction is required for real life development.
Thank you,
Becky Long