Children possess natural characteristics: innocence, curiosity, desire for independence, and fear of punishment that make them obvious targets for sexual online predators. Every parent needs to consider these characteristics when devising a plan of how to protect their child, while at the same time, leaving room for a certain amount of privacy and autonomous development.
Online predators present a greater threat to children because of the inherent anonymity of the internet. It is easier for people to misrepresent themselves and manipulate others through email, instant messaging programs, chat rooms and social networking sites.
The best way to combat this problem is to stay involved with the activities your children are involved in. Keep your computer in an open area. If your computer is in a high-traffic area, you will be able to easily monitor computer activity. Be sure to set rules, warn about dangers and make certain your child understands the boundaries concerning internet use. Also, spend time reviewing what is considered appropriate behavior and how to recognize suspicious activity.
Monitor computer activity and keep the lines of communication open. You may be able to set some degree of parental control within your internet browser. There are other resources you can use to monitor your child's online activity. Some internet service providers offer monitoring services designed to protect children online. Alternatively, there are filtering software programs you can install aimed specifically at protecting children from online predators by alerting parents to conversations and interactions they might take issue with.
There are options out there that send alerts based on bad language and other objectionable terms. However, some experts warn against spying on your children. Many times, when a parent spies, an adversarial relationship develop, thus closing off lines of communication necessary to provide a necessary level of protection. A 2005 study of the internet-monitoring habits of parents reported that 58 percent of parents review what their teens read or type in chat rooms or through instant messaging. The point is not to interfere with our children's lives, but rather make them safer.
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