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How safe are our kids online?
When the Brooke Bennett case first broke in the news, it was reported that she appeared to have gone off to meet someone she had met on Myspace. I don’t know about you, but that idea scared me to death. I have two girls in their early teens, and they more or less live on Myspace. The first thing I did was drag both of them to the computer and show them Brooke’s picture, along with the story.
Of course, we now know that Myspace had nothing to do with Brooke’s abduction and death….but it could have. So easily. Our kids are so trusting and gullible, even when we try to drill it into them that not everyone is who or what they appear on the computer.
On Wednesday, July 23rd, at 1pm EST, John Walsh of America’s Most Wanted will be taking part in a live webcast discussing what we as parents can do to make sure our kids are safe online. Here’s a bit about it.
Is Your Tween Safe Online?
Live WebcastWednesday, July 23, 2008 1:00 PM Eastern
John Walsh, children’s advocate and host of America’s Most Wanted, will discuss what parents and guardians can do to help protect and educate their children about the potential dangers of online predators and offer tips for safer surfing.
Millions of tweens and teens surf the Internet every day, and they often know more about the Web than their parents and guardians. Unfortunately, the ease and convenience of using the Internet as a primary form of communication is offset by its potential dangers. A recent survey from Cox Communications in partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) reveals a compelling mix of encouraging and disturbing news about tweens and teens’ online behavior. While many tweens and teens are sharing personal info and putting themselves in potentially harmful situations, the survey shows that parents and guardians who talk to their tweens and teens about Internet safety help reduce youth exposure to potential threats and encourage safer online decisions.
We hope you can participate in this LIVE event webcast. You will also be able to ask questions via email of John Walsh during the webcast and potentially have them answered live!
You can go here to register for this event. Even though I’ll be at work, I’ll be listening. I’d strongly encourage you to do the same. It’s so important to keep our kids safe online….they think they know it all, but really, they don’t. It comes down to this….it’s our job, as parents, to do all we can to protect our kids. The more we learn about what they’re doing online, the better chances we can catch problems before they go too far.
Hey,
Stopped by because your blog returned in one of my daily searches. Good topic and one that I am closely attached to. Kids give way too much information on MySpace and the Internet because to them it’s just there. They do not comprehend the scale to which their information is available to others. They don’t comprehend a world that stretched beyond the backyard or computer screen. Parents need to monitor. It’s as simple as that. If every parent even mildly monitored their child’s activity, there would be no cyberbullying and no Internet predators (well, successful ones anyway). Of course, we recommend our title but there are many out there that do the trick. My one piece of advise is to not focus on restricting and filtering, let them do what they want – let them grow the way kids grow today – just KNOW what they are doing. Monitoring software can help take the guesswork out of it and provide you with answers.
Hi, I also stumbled upon your post. If you are looking for a safer alternative, the beacon street girls company has a website that is monitored so that girls can’t post personal info. it’s at http://www.beaconstreetgirls.com — i don’t know if your daughters are too old for it, but just thought i’d share it with you.