Many of us think that our kids are completely safe online. The truth is that they probably are. Then again, you can probably drive to work tomorrow without your seat belt on and arrive safely. You probably won’t get into an accident. Your child probably won’t come across anything harmful online tomorrow either. However, your child is at more risk on the Internet without safety precautions than you are without your seat belt. Let’s begin with a little reality check. Here is what I want you to do:

Click on  http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/cac/registry.htm. This is the FBI’s National/State Sex Offender Registry. Now click on your state. When you get on your state’s website, type in your zip code. If you live in an urban area, you probably won’t be surprised. However, if you live in a rural area you may be shocked to learn that there are quite a few predators in your area. Now, Google some of the names and see how many of them are Internet predators. Again, you might be shocked. Now, before you form a mob  of neighbors and take your torches and pitchforks down the road, here are a few other things you should probably know. The following statistics come from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children:

1. One out five children were approached or sexually solicited online last year.

2. One out of thirty-one children had a predator ask them to meet them somewhere. (Remember how many predators were in your area! These are only the ones who have been caught!)

3. One out of four were exposed to pornographic material without seeking it out themselves.

4. One out of seventeen were threatened by someone online.

5. Only a fraction of the children in the statistics above were bothered and a smaller fraction were reported by the police.

This is all such a shame because the Internet is also a very wonderful place. The Internet is such a wonderful educational tool and can be a wholesome way to entertain your kids. Unfortunately, predators know this too. They don’t hang out at onlinepredator.com. They hang out on children’s sites.

So what can we do? Glad you asked.

• Keep your computer in a high traffic area like the living room. This may be harder if you have a wireless system and a laptop. Be sure to look over your child’s shoulder as much as possible. I know that teenagers hate this, but they are at the most risk.
• Buy some Internet Monitoring software. The best program that I have seen is PC Tattletale. This program will record and monitor everything your child does. If your child is on social sites like MySpace or FaceBook, the program will monitor anything they post, including pictures. It can also block any images that you don’t want your child to see. It can record everything your child types online so that you can read it later.
• Talk to your children often. Ask them what they do online. Keep the conversation going. You don’t have to be confrontational about it. Talk to them about the sites that you like. Get involved in social media yourself. Get on FaceBook, MySpace, Twitter, and so on. It will be harder to monitor your child if you are ignorant to how these sites work.