The greatest danger for children online is that of the child-predator. Child-predators use technology to locate, track, and contact victims. Over half of the reported sexual assaults are perpetrated by child-predators against children. The other statistics covering child-abuse are even more unnerving:
90% of sexual assaults on children happen with people they know
67% of reported sexual assault victims are under the age of 18
less than 67% of child sexual assaults are reported to authorities
1 in 10 boys is sexually exploited before they reach adulthood
There are over 560,000 registered sex-offenders living in the United States
Twenty three states have lost track of between 10% and 50% of their sex offenders (Stop Child Predators, 2009).
Take the steps to protect your child from being contacted or stalked by a child-predator:
Provide an environment based on trust and communication
Talk with your children about what they do online and what they face. You want your children to come to you when they face uncomfortable situations; you do not want to develop an adversarial relationship.
Secure your computers
Keep your computers up to date, regardless of whether your computers are Apples or run on a Windows or Linux based operating system. Computer vulnerabilities pose threats to your children's welfare as well as your own.
Place the family computer in a high-traffic area
Placing the computer that your child uses to access the Internet in a location where you can monitor your child's activities, like the living room or family room, increases your awareness of what is going on and lets the child know that you are interested.
Limit the amount of time that your children spend online
Most children that fall victim to computer-sex offenders spend large amounts of time online, particularly in chat rooms. Children online are at the greatest risk during the evening hours. While offenders are online around the clock, most work during the day and spend their evenings online trying to locate and lure children or seeking pornography. (Dateline NBC).
Use browser parental controls and content filters
Once you have determined the types of content and activities that your children are permitted to view and participate in, use parental controls and content filters to limit your children's ability to stray to unsafe areas.
Restrict e-mail and Instant Messaging (IM) access
You should maintain the ability to access any e-mail sent from or received by your children. E-mail is one of the tools that child-predators use to establish contact with victims so know who your child corresponds with and what they discuss. IM, like e-mail is another tool used by child-predators to establish contact; know who is in your child's "friends" list if access to IM service is provided. The best philosophy is to not permit pre-teens access to e-mail or IM services.
Safe surfing habits should be followed by children as well as adults. Do not provide personal information online to any but the most secure sites and only for specific purposes. Children should not provide any personal information online because the information may be made public and available to child-predators. Communication and trust are the best methods to protect children where safe surfing is concerned.
Pre-teens should not access social networking sites or chat rooms. These are the areas of the Internet where child-predators lurk and seek out their victims. There is no way to verify the identity of people on these sites who your children could communicate with; the 13-year-old girl may be a 40-year-old man. Keep your children away from these sites!
Establish Away from Home Guidelines
Your children do not access the Internet from home. They may surf the web at school or at a friend's house. Unfortunately, there is no way to control their actions when away from home. This is one area where the honor system comes into play. Educate your children on the dangers, agree on acceptable activities, and then trust your children to do what is right.
Teach your child about the dangers of mobile technology
Computers are not the only technology that children are exposed to and not the only threat. Cell-phones and some hand-held games can empower children to access the Internet and participate in activities just like they are in front of a computer. Once again, communication and trust provide the best defense with mobile technologies.
Child Predators
