Protect Your Children from Online Predators

For parents, the Internet can be like navigating a minefield. While the Web allows kids the freedom to make friends, play games and research homework with the click of a button, it can pose a potential danger as online predators, cyberbullies and scam artists ply their trade. "A lot of parents think, 'It will never happen to my kid,' and that's not true," he said, adding that boys and girls are victimized in equal numbers. Parents need to take precautions, Halpert said. In "SafeOnline 101" Halpert gives parents the tools they need to protect their children from cyberthreats.

The biggest thing is to start early. Children are going online at a younger and younger age these days. The younger you can start the better, talking to your children about it, so that it becomes ingrained as they go forward," he said. Halpert offered common-sense steps for parents. First he says parents need to become more computer literate and Web savvy. Take for example, instant messaging. Parents need to learn the lingo: POS is short for "parents are looking over my shoulder" and LMIRL means "let's meet in real life."

More than half of American families with teens use filters to limit access to potentially harmful online content, according to a 2005 survey conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. We as parents should know what these tools can and cannot do and how they work. They are very effective at limiting time spent online, the sites kids can visit and the types of communications they can use, but they also might filter out sites a child might want to look at for school work.

While there's no easy solution, preventative measures can greatly reduce a child's chances of becoming a victim. I believe we need to keep a heads up about this with our children.