Protect Your Child Online

Without any doubt, parental guidance is the ultimate step towards protecting your child online. Parents should be the first ones to take full responsibility in making sure that their kids have a worry-free internet adventure. However, there’s more to it than just educating our kids about the potential harms the internet brings. It’s just part of the unrelenting battle that we are now raging against online predators. As with every battle fought, weapons are essential to determine who’s got the upper hand.

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Amidst the growing concern on protecting your child online where various means are being taken into consideration to put a stop to online dangers, reports about perpetrating online dangers continue to circulate almost everyday. More and more this proves that unless an entirely new Internet is put in place, there are no stopping online predators from snatching our little children out of their innocence, exposing them to humiliation and trauma that would linger as they grow.

Just recently, four men were charged with involvement in online child pornography. Larry A. Biehl, 51, of Alexandria was arrested for illegal use of minor in nudity-oriented material. When investigators searched his home, they found pornographic photos of the 15-year old teen Biehl was chatting with online. According to Biehl, he started chatting with the girl when she was just 13 years old. The girl reportedly sent pornographic pictures of herself to the suspect.

Meanwhile, Francis Nardone was arrested for posting online images of children performing sex acts. He was found to be in possession of over 4,000 of such pictures.

A former corrections officer, Timothy P. Clinkenbeard of Fremont was arrested on suspicion of being involved in a child pornography-related activity. According to the report he was taking photos of a naked child and had visited child pornography-themed web sites.

In another report, Thomas Corbett is charged with possession and distribution of child pornography materials.

One can’t help but just shake his head and wonder, “These men could be fathers. And if they were, how could they do such awful things to little children?” Still think that your children can’t become victims themselves? Think twice. Online predators are sneaky bastards who are now becoming more cautious. It’s only a matter of time before they cross paths with you children.

This time it’s really serious. As we press on with our efforts to protect our children from online predation, predators are becoming more cautious, wary of the plans the authorities laid out to have them booked. One of the factors that have contributed to the rise of online child sexual exploitation is the fact that many of the perpetrators have been exposed and apprehended when years back it was very hard to even tail them.

A month ago, the Internet Watch Foundation reported that there was a fourfold increase in the number of images of serious child abuse online in over three years. The images which are being sold online have become alarmingly more hardcore which, according to the report, was a way for perpetrators to fend off competitors as the demands have increased. What’s more disturbing is the fact that these children who are being abused are predominantly under the age of 12 according to the report. It’s just plain sick. These are but babies, for crying out loud!

Police and crime investigation unit efforts are being carried out to capture these crooks. In recent news, several perpetrators were apprehended after successful undercover operations by the authorities. A former teacher was recently caught when he attempted to meet up with a 15-year-old boy after interacting with him online. Under his possession when he was caught were condoms, lubricant, and a digital camera. In another report, a former employee of DynCorp at Columbus Air Force Base was arrested after he lured a law enforcement officer disguised as a 14-year-old girl into meeting up with him after a sexually explicit conversation on the Internet. Meanwhile, a man from Chickasha, Oklahoma, was arrested recently after promising to procure a 5-year-old and a 1-year-old to a prospective client for sex over the Internet for $5,000!

These efforts on the part of the law enforcement should be applauded. However, these are apparently not enough. We need a more stringent way to overrun online predators and put a stop to their sick practices once and for all. Stern parental guidance and stronger international cooperation to create a safer internet should be enforced now before another poor innocent life is put on the line.

Despite the fact that a lot has been said about protecting your child online, the issue still needs a lot of attention. It’s an issue that is so prevalent that it does not only concern one speck of the world – it involves all citizens of our planet!

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It’s a scary world out there. In the real world, predators are tirelessly on the prowl, waiting for the next unsuspecting victim. The same can also be said about online predators. They are always on the lookout to search online avenues for vulnerable victims, like vultures, waiting for the weak prey to finally lie down unconscious, finally becoming theirs for the taking. In your effort to protect your child online, essentially, you should be most aware about how online predators work.

How do online predators work?

They mostly work on chat rooms where they can easily cloak their true identities. Since online chat rooms are categorized, predators can easily choose which type of “rooms” children often hang out. They are crafty and sneaky. They put themselves on their victims’ shoes. They empathize and sympathize. Some do all that they can by giving material gifts, showing kindness and affection, pretending to understand the young adolescents’ sentiments as they painfully transition to their lives’ next phase. Online predators try to gain their victims’ trust by disguising themselves as someone with whom anyone can easily befriend.

Since it’s easy for anyone to hide their true identity away online, children tend to trust predators easily. Predators keep themselves updated with the latest music, movies or games that are likely to spark any child’s interest. They talk within the context of these interests, gradually segueing into sexually themed topics, assuring the child that it’s perfectly OK to talk about it.

Predators try to find out as much they can about kids through their conversations. After winning the child’s attention and trust, they move on to talking the child into giving away any information that would help them evaluate the child further for future actual meetings.

Parents should be aware of these facts. Somehow, one might think if there are any safe avenues for our children online. Will the Internet be any safer? Will we ever trust our children to go alone online? Internet safety is indeed a growing concern. However, one should only be vigilant so that our children stay safe whenever they go online. It all boils down to taking full responsibility by doing the same things that we do to make sure that our kids stay safe offline.

The reports concerning the alarming increase in the number of online child exploitation is indeed alarming which calls for a more rigorous effort to protect your child online. We can’t just turn a blind eye to the issue because one day our child could fall victim to online predators. Experts say it really is quite a stretch to catch the perpetrators. In the meantime, majority of the responsibilities to keep our children safe online rests on us.

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I’ve discussed in a previous post the prevalence of online predation and child sexual exploitation. I’ve also covered some of the dangers our children could encounter on the Internet in an effort to help protect your child online.

Some advocates of Internet child safety assert that parents and kids simply don’t get the message yet despite the many ongoing warnings about online dangers. They warn parents and children to stay away from chatrooms…of all kinds. Parents and kids should rightfully adhere.

Some chatrooms are cloaked under the guise of religion, sports, music and wholesome entertainment but are, in truth, swarmed with predators. They have ways in turning the most innocent conversations about anything into a subtle invitation to get together for a sexual engagement. It’s a scary thought indeed.

Hopefully, parents are now weary with all the potential dangers that could strike if their children are getting online unsupervised. These dangers could be frightfully deadly. How many children more should suffer? How many more should be compromised?

Parents, you don’t need to find out for yourselves how awful it is to find your kids being victimized by online predators simply because you took the warnings for granted. The choice is yours. You may start acting now by doing all the necessary steps to ensure your child’s safety or you can simply do nothing and later regret.

At the core of protecting your child online is parental guidance. Among our many responsibilities as parents is being with our children all the time to teach and guide them about the two sides of things, i.e. the good side and the bad side. We teach them that while it’s not good to talk to strangers it’s nice to know new friends at school and elsewhere, especially people who are being introduced to us by an acquaintance. At home, we, parents, are at the forefront of our child’s formative years.

We taught them how to talk, to read, to walk, to play ball, to ride a bike. Unfortunately, though, these days, children are learning new things as they set out to explore the virtual world of the Internet without us being aware of it fully.

To new parents, a piece of advice to get a head start on protecting your child online: The best people from which our children can learn the ins and outs of the Internet should be us. That is why we should be the first ones to learn the benefits and dangers of the Internet. How many of us really are Internet savvy? How many of us are really aware of the dangers of the Internet?

Fortunately, the knowledge necessary to browse the Internet is not at all technical. When I started using the Internet about 10 years ago, I didn’t know anything much about computers (any more than I know how to operate a VCR). All I knew then was that the Internet was starting to explode and I want in. The first basic thing I learned was searching for any information using the search engine. Back then it was all Yahoo! and MSN. It was not until after five years or so that I started using Google. Email was the next thing that hit me. I did not have many friends who had email addresses then so I put off learning it until all my friends got online. The next thing that got me hooked was chatrooms. Me and my friends hang out a lot even to this day on chatrooms, chatting all day, meeting new friends. The next wave that caught me was social networking. Boy, seeing all my friends’ profiles and seeing how their doing under one site is just amazing. Now it’s blogging. I have to admit that the things that one could do online can be really addicting. Online addiction is one that is hard to break.

But if there’s something essential about all this, it is learning new things and being able to do “wholesome” things with your friends in the virtual world. Even to this day, I primarily use the Internet for research and reading news. I still socialize with my friends online but I still find hanging out with them offline way better than just being with them electronically.

When your child starts to talk about wanting to get online just like their friends, don’t hold back. Don’t even start by telling them about the dangers because that could turn them off even from the good opportunities the Internet could bring. Start by showing them the fun side of the Internet. Teach them how to search using the search engines. Teach them the benefits of using email. Teach them everything there is to know about the Internet and then teach the dangers that they could encounter online, much like the dangers that they could be exposed to in the real world.

Isn’t parenting these days a lot more taxing than it used to?

Primary to making our homes safe for us and our children is setting house rules. It doesn’t only make our homes any safer, but it also trains our children to have a sense of responsibility as they grow up. In much the same way, setting up “house rules” for Internet use not only helps to protect your child online, it also cultivates that same sense of responsibility when they get online.

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Parents today do double duty in protecting their children. There is the matter of making sure they’re safe in the real world, and then there is the matter of keeping them away from harm whenever they go online. The dangers out there are as threatening as the internet dangers they can encounter online. Make protecting your child from the harms online a regular routine. But how do you start to protect you kids online?

For starters, arm yourself with a lot of knowhow. Online protection starts by knowing just what type of internet dangers your child can encounter. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll be familiar with all the possible threats children can encounter online. But knowledge is only the first step. We parents will always have our children’s safety in mind, but we can’t always look over their shoulders everytime they’re online.

That’s why a potent weapon against internet dangers is proper education. Since children should also be given the freedom to explore cyberspace on their own, we, as parents, should arm them with the necessary knowledge to make them less prone to online bullying, online sexual predators, and other potential dangers.

We shouldn’t underestimate our children’s knowledge, and we should trust them enough to give them tips and advice whenever they’re online. Going online should always be a fun and educational experience for children, instead of a traumatic one. Children will understand our point when we explain to them the potential threats that can harm them on the internet. Encourage them to tell you about the people they meet online, so you can keep track of their activities without imposing on their privacy.

The Internet has transformed into a huge virtual melting pot of all sorts of data and information. As the new Internet grows, the possibilities become endless. People can now educate themselves, thanks to the vast information available online and people can now communicate more instantly. With the advent of the modern Internet, news from around the world are more far reaching than ever and can be obtained at the push of the button.

So the next time you talk to your children about the dangers of the Internet, talk about the merits of becoming part of the network as well. The Internet is here to stay. Let’s make our kids aware of the good advantages, without compromising their safety.