Lately it seems like the internet is taking over the world. Children use the internet for everything from playing games to doing research to keeping in touch with their friends. So why is such a widely used medium consistently neglected by the watchful eyes of parents? You monitor what your children watch on TV, what movies they go to see and who they hang out with, so why not monitor their activity on the internet?
Some parents may call this an invasion of privacy, but when your child’s safety could be at stake the idea of privacy no longer exists. Child predators have free reign over the internet because they can assumed the identity of someone your child can trust, usually a child of the same age. It is up to you as a parent to teach your children to look out for their predators and use the internet safely.
Go over what is okay to tell people over the internet and what is unacceptable. For example, your children should never give anyone their personal information like their name, telephone number, address or school, because if it falls into the wrong hands it could put them in danger. Pay attention to what chat rooms or bulletins they join, even if it means being a little nosey. Stress to them the danger of getting too personal over the internet with someone they’ve never met. A person could be anyone from the 12-year-old girl she is claiming to be to a 65-year-old man.
Tell your children they are not allowed to send pictures over the internet to someone they don’t know, especially without a parent’s permission. You never know who they are actually sending it to. Parents now also have to look out for sites like myspace and facebook to make sure their children are not exploiting themselves in a way that would make them an easy target for a child predator.
Tell your children they are never, ever allowed, under any circumstances, to meet with someone they have met over the internet. Giving a complete stranger enough personal information to identify them could lead them right into a predator’s trap. Keep watch over instant messages and emails to make sure your child avoids talking to strangers altogether.
You should also adjust your parental controls on the internet to limit chat rooms your kids can enter or sites they can view. Search engines are so broad that a child doing a research paper for school could end up with search results that are much more questionable than you would care for them to see. Give your kids a couple of sites that you already know are informative so that they can search their topic safely. You should also encourage them to come to you if they are uncomfortable with something they saw or something someone said to them. If this does happen, they should stop talking to that person immediately.
Solomon Brenner has been teaching martial arts to children and adults for
ten years, and holds a 6th degree black belt in Kenpo Karate. During that
time he has held countless seminars on subjects such as self-esteem in
children and teens, behavior and discipline, praise vs. punishment, career
motivation, goal setting, parenting, and self defense. He has spoken to
elementary schools, women’s groups, scouting organizations, civic
associations and corporate seminars. Using these experiences, he has
recently authored Black Belt Parenting, a motivational how-to book for
parents.
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