Kids Aren't Always Helpful In Thwarting Online Predators
The Ada Evening News offers a great article with tips to protect kids at myspace, and any social networking site for that matter, from online predators.
However, where the article falls short is in telling parents how to handle kids who don't want parents to know who they're talking to online.
Yes, it's true that for today's kids posting a profile on myspace is as natural as chatting on a cell phone, or downloading music to an MP3 player. It's also true that there are many things parents can do to protect their kids from online predators, including creating false profiles, avoiding sharing personal information, not meeting with online "friends," etc.
But, the real truth is that many teens and tweens don't always tell their parents "if an online friend is pushing for personal information or urging to meet." In fact, many kids don't tell their parents anything, let alone clue them in on who they're talking to and where they plan to go.
What the article needs to include is a bit on how parental control software can also protect kids from online predators when they log-on to places like myspace.
Good parental control software, like Awareness Tech's WebWatcher, gives parents options like website blocking, chat recording, email recording, and more.
We would all like to rely on our kids to tell us the details of their lives, but unfortunately that just isn't the case. With WebWatcher, parents can enjoy the security of knowing that if they really need to involve themselves in their child's online experience, the data will be there for their inspection.
However, where the article falls short is in telling parents how to handle kids who don't want parents to know who they're talking to online.
Yes, it's true that for today's kids posting a profile on myspace is as natural as chatting on a cell phone, or downloading music to an MP3 player. It's also true that there are many things parents can do to protect their kids from online predators, including creating false profiles, avoiding sharing personal information, not meeting with online "friends," etc.
But, the real truth is that many teens and tweens don't always tell their parents "if an online friend is pushing for personal information or urging to meet." In fact, many kids don't tell their parents anything, let alone clue them in on who they're talking to and where they plan to go.
What the article needs to include is a bit on how parental control software can also protect kids from online predators when they log-on to places like myspace.
Good parental control software, like Awareness Tech's WebWatcher, gives parents options like website blocking, chat recording, email recording, and more.
We would all like to rely on our kids to tell us the details of their lives, but unfortunately that just isn't the case. With WebWatcher, parents can enjoy the security of knowing that if they really need to involve themselves in their child's online experience, the data will be there for their inspection.
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