If you have children who use the computer, were you aware that if they visit chat rooms, use e-mail or instant messaging, then it can put your child in danger of encountering online predators?

Intimacy and trust can develop quite quickly online as the Internet is a pretty anonymous tool.  Predators will take advantage of this, and they will try to build relationships with young people who do not have the experience or the wisdom of years to understand how the Internet works and how the mind of a sexual predator works. Parents should help protect their children by becoming involved in their children's Internet activities.

How do online predators work?
Predators usually establish contact with children through discussion boards, conversations in chat rooms, e-mail or instant messaging.  Many teenagers go to online peer support forums to find help with their problems.  Predators will often go to these forums seeking vulnerable victims.

Online predators will try to seduce their victims by giving them attention, kindness, affection and even gifts.  They will devote quite a bit of energy and money to this effort.  They will always stay on top of the latest hobbies and music that appeal to kids. Some sexual predators may work faster than others, and they may try to engage in sexually explicit conversations right away.  Some of these direct approaches may include stalking, harassment or meeting their victim face-to-face.

How can parents minimize the risk of a child becoming a victim?
1. Talk to your children about possible online dangers as well as about sexual predators.

2. Use recommended parental control software.  Don't worry about the expense.  Can you place a price on your child's life?  If you use Windows Vista, it is already built into the system.

3. If your child gets on a social networking website, then insist that your children follow the age limits.  Usually the age for signing up for a site such as MySpace is 13 years of age or older.  If your children have not yet reached the appropriate age limit, do NOT let them use these sites.

4. Young children should stay out of chat rooms.  The dangers are simply too great.  You should encourage your children to use monitored chat rooms whether they are teenagers or not.

5. If your children do happen to visit chat rooms, then make it your business to know which chat room they visit and with whom they speak.  There is nothing to say that you cannot monitor the chat rooms yourself to find out the tone of the conversations.

6. Instruct your children to only stay in the chat room's public area.  Chat rooms do offer some areas where users can have private conversations with each other, but these conversations cannot be monitored.  These areas are sometimes called "whisper" areas.

7. Make sure that the computer that has Internet access is located in a common area of your house and NEVER in your child's bedroom.  It is much harder for a sexual predator to establish any kind of relationship with your child if the computer screen can be easily seen by anyone.  Make it a habit to sit with your child when he or she is online.

8. When your children are young, they should not have their own e-mail accounts.  They should use the family e-mail address.  As your children grow older, then they can get their own e-mail account.  You can also ask you ISP to set up your child's own e-mail address.  In this way, your child's e-mail can still stay in your account.

9. Instruct your children not to respond to any e-mails or instant messaging from strangers.  If your children happen to use any computers that are in places where you are not supervising them, such as friend's homes, libraries or schools, stay informed as to what computer safeguards are in place.

10. If all of your safeguards fail, and you child does happen to meet an online sexual predator, do NOT blame them.  The responsibility is always with the offender.  Take swift and decisive action to end any further contact your child may have with this person.

What should you do if your child is a target of on online predator?

If you notice that your child is being solicited sexually by either instant messaging or e-mail or if your child receives sexually explicit photographs for an unknown online correspondent, then the first thing you should do is contact your local police.  Save any documentation you may have which may include website addresses, e-mail addresses or chat logs and be sure to share this information with the police. We are living in a very seductive time period, and anything you can do to keep your child pure is worth your effort.

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