Predators on the Internet- Keeping Your Child Safe
We have all seen the news specials and the countless articles. We all know the alarming statistics. Our children are being preyed on by predators. It’s happening while they are at school. It’s happening on the bus ride home. And, it’s happening in our own homes, usually while we are sitting in the very same room. Our children are being attacked while we are within arm’s reach of them, and do we even notice that it is happening? No! We usually miss the glaring warning signs until it is too late. Many of our children have been victimized and we may never even find out about it. These threats are coming from the internet and there are three major kinds of predators out there: sexual predators, cyber bullies and scammers.
Scammers
There are those who want to find an unattended child online. They will try to email them and get as much of his or her personal information as possible. Your child may be pretty smart, but in the hands of some of these scam artists, they will give up a lot of information, such as his or her last name, birth date and more before you know it. In fact, kids are the biggest target for identity thieves to prey on these days. By getting kids email, you are taking the first step in creating a secure environment for them, online. You can monitor all their incoming and outgoing email, as well as block out any unwanted individuals from contacting them.
Cyber Bullies
The most common type of predator that your child might have to deal with on the internet is cyber bullies. They may know these people, or may even have been friends with them at some point in their lives, but now they are either being targeted by a bully or are encouraging one by laughing (LOL, for example, to a comment that has been posted). Even worse, they may even be the cyber bully themselves. Make sure that your child knows about cyber bullying and let them know that they can talk to you if they have a problem with anyone online. Also let them know where you stand on the subject of cyber bullying as well.
Sexual Predators
There are monsters out there who are just waiting to find a lonely teen or preteen boy or girl that just needs a little attention. They will find the weak or those with self esteem issues and then exploit them until they get what they want. If you think that your child is too young to be sexually solicited by strangers online, you need to take a look at what they are really talking about online, have a look at the news and then look into getting a kids browser that can help protect them from some of these predators. There are many different ways to exert a little parental control over the computer, including kids email programs which can keep your child protected by blocking out a number of questionable sites and limiting the amount of time that they can spend on the internet at all.
Jacob Andersen received a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Brigham Young University and an MBA from Utah State University. He is committed to using his knowledge and expertise to keeping kids safe online.”The safety of our children is the mission of KidsEmail.org and MyKidsBrowser.com,” Andersen said.”Any profits made are reinvested into the development and advertising of new child safety products.”
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