Leave Ou Kids Alone

A report published by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and the University of New Hampshire revealed that of a sample of children & teens who use the Internet:

1 in 5 children - Solicited for sex in the past year.

1 in 33 children- Aggressively solicited sexual, meaning that the child was threatened, asked to meet, called on the phone, or received mail or gifts.

1 in 4 children- Exposed to photos of people having sex, even though about 1/3 of households reported using "Internet blocking software."

1 in 17 children - Threatened or harassed on the Internet, including threats of harm to the child, friends or other family members.

Unfortunately, adults are currently free to distribute non-obscene adult sexual content to children online without legal recourse. This creates the following irony: publishers and distributors of pornographic magazines or videos are legally forbidden from selling, renting, or displaying them to children in a bookstore or video store; but the same publishers and distributors are legally free to sell or display those same magazines and videos to children online.

There are recurring press reports of pedophiles using chat rooms to lure children into physical meetings. According to a recent national newspaper report, chat rooms are the most popular activity for children online, yet most chat rooms are unsupervised. Many are "private," accessible only by invitation and special passwords (which may be provided to children by e-mail or "instant-type" messages to the screen of a targeted child).

Through use of chat rooms, adult strangers can have direct one-to-one access to our children. The "safe" home setting, combined with our children's natural trust, may lead them to forget that these people are strangers. This makes it easier for the pedophile to prey on children who would never talk to a stranger in the "real world."

Police investigators report that when they identify themselves as teenaged girls in chat rooms they are frequently approached by strangers making sexual advances. In addition, pedophiles have created a community online, where they can validate their behavior with other like-minded individuals and share information and "tricks of the trade."

One of the biggest deterrents pedophiles face is the fear getting caught, and the threat and danger of being arrested.

Parents bear the primary responsibility for teaching their children to be wise and safe Internet users. To do that, parents need to be aware of practical and helpful resources, safety tips and technology.

Ultimately, the parent's involvement is critical for successful online experiences - just as it is to avoid other pitfalls of life such as alcohol or drug abuse. Parents need to educate their children about online safety, including the possibility of encountering pedophiles, which means that parents themselves must become familiar with the medium.

There is software available online that can stop these predators and secure your children from these sick peoples grasp.

And while this software can't stop predatory pedophiles from hunting for children on the Internet, it does offer a substantial safeguard for your children by allowing you to monitory their Internet activity.

If a pedophile has an online conversation with your child, the software records that conversation, including any incriminating evidence as well as any personal or contact information they may give to your child.

This software can even capture the pictures of who your kids might be chatting with in MySpace.com

You'll be able to read BOTH sides of the conversation. Now you can see if your child has been approached or had a conversation with someone they shouldn't, you'll be able to act accordingly and report them to local law enforcement AND prevent them from contacting your child again.

Is it wrong to spy on your kids?

No. Of course some people may disagree, but we KNOW that in today's "sexually charged" environment, it's only a matter of time until your child is exposed to things, people or situations that they shouldn't.

When you are monitoring your child's online activities, you're not spying, you're acting as a responsible parent and taking charge of the people and images that assault your child everyday.

To those people who might disagree with me and insist that using software like this is "spying," then to them we say "If it keeps your child safe, so what?"

If "spying" on what your kids do online, helps keeps them and my family safe, then no harm no foul.

Even if you aren't concerned about online sex offenders (and you should be) teen peer pressure is extremely intense these days. Monitoring your children will help them keep out of trouble too.

There are many software packages available on the net check which one suits you.The one iam using know for my kids security is called Tattletale and it works very well. Luckily enough i havent had any concerns yet, but for my wife and I it is knowing that the kids are safe, enjoying the internet which for them is a wonderful resource for study and chatting with real friends.

So make sure your kids are safe in their own home, and buy some good software to protect them, it will stop these sick people from ruining your childs life.

But remember parents should not be expected to bear all the responsibility of this job alone. In order for the Internet to be a safe, educational, and entertaining medium for children, responsibility must be shared by the public (which includes parents, teachers and others), the technology industry, and the law enforcement community. Each must bear their share of responsibility and act with due diligence. With this community commitment, the Internet will not only be a rewarding place for children but a safe one as well.

Petalac