Internet Safety for our children

Wow! Were my eyes opened to the internet last night at the middle school's presentation by Officer DeLitta!!! Because of the importance of what we learned last night, I thought it worth while to share and hopefully you will forward this on to as many friends & family members you possibly can. (I hope I can decipher my messy handwriting....he was talking so fast and giving out so much information!)

First of all, he wanted to stress the importance of teaching our children the SAFE way to use the computer -- basically if it's not allowed in school (ie. bullying, stalking, naked pix, alcohol stories, etc.) then it's not allowed on the computer/internet.

Cyber stalking............. some one gets a hold of your child's email, instant message, my space, etc. and they actually "stalk" your child by knowing the who, what, where, when of their lives.

Cyber bullying........... basically someone "fighting" via computer language

And of course, Viruses............ maliciously sent or inadvertently

There's computer trespassing (giving passwords to friends), computer fraud, computer invasion and theft of computer services. All these have mis demeanor and in some cases felony charges.............without you even knowing your child is doing it!!!

Here's a scary stat: 1 in 2 children have been exposed to unwanted exposure to sexually explicit internet content. The stories the officer told were really scary............how just within 20 minutes a predator can figure out a kid's name, hobbies, address, phone number, school, after school activities, parents' names, etc. etc..........it was incredible..........all based on a few facts listed on the girl's "my space" site. HINT: DELETE the MYSPACE site from your child's computer!!!

90% -- NINETY PERCENT -- of stalked victims are ages 13 - 16!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Reason? Kids at this age are curious, need attention and need to defy. sad.

And you thought computers were semi-protected at school........think again. Here's an example. If the word "sex" is typed in a search engine at school, it's obviously blocked. But guess what? Type it in another language at school and see what happens???

92% of the child predators are male, non-hispanic, white -- the one's who can afford computers and internet access!!!
86% are older than 25
only 10% have prior arrests against a minor!!!

Child Predators once thought they could get away with traveling to another country to molest children.......well, now it's called "child sex tourism" and they can be convicted in the US for performing "their duties" outside the US.

91% of 6th, 7th, & 8th graders have internet access
non-private location (i.e. kitchen, living room) 7-10%
private locations...............office 27%, bedroom 23.7%, basement 13.9% and other is 21.3%
HINT: Put computers w/ internet access in NON-PRIVATE locations!!!

49% of these middle schoolers Instant Message (IM)
21% have entered chatrooms
17% have a my space account
7% have xanga account

* Just as you ask your children the who, what, where, when, why when they go to some one else's house, you should be doing the same about the internet when they go to some one else's house. Call the parents, ask them to check history & cookies.

* Keep rules posted by the computer.

* Discuss the importance of telling a trusted adult if they are feeling uncomfortable, scared or confused by some one who has contacted them via the internet.

* LEARN EVERYTHING YOU CAN ABOUT THE INTERNET!!!

* Go to www.cybertipline.com to learn the IM acronyms or call 1-800-843-5678
* Know other online accesses............cell phones, blackberries, etc.
* Know how to set parental controls, check file histories and check cookies

***If you need to report suspicious activity, a suspected child predator (he may be sending photos to your children, etc.) DO NOT DELETE the message, photos, etc. Just leave the computer turned on, turn off the monitor if you can and call the sheriff. Here in Loudoun County, VA that number is 703-777-1021 or the CID local 703-777-0475***

Go to www.wiredsafety.com to delete any myspace acounts & xango!!!

google "filtering software" and choose the best for your situation. ..... one suggested was spectorsoft.com (not sure if I've spelled it correctly)

Go to www.NetSmartz.org for more tips.

 

This is why we have never allowed our children to use the internet unsupervised and have no computers in their bedrooms.
Suzie cutie, are you 65?

 

I would be more inclined to think she was born in '65, not that she is 65.

 

Right you are!!!!

 

Same with us...computer is in the open where we can monitor our child's actions. It's not a trust factor, it's a safety issue.

 

I read this wrong and thought, "they keep their computer in the OVEN?" :huhsign:





:doh:

 

An alternative to deleting the child's myspace & xanga, etc accounts would be to get one yourself and monitor your child's page. I don't know much about xanga, however myspace is set up that the page belonging to a child under a certain age (maybe 15 or 16 - I'm not sure) is set as private and can only be accessed by persons designated as 'friends'. Though my daughter is of age, I have a page that I use to "keep an eye" on the girls in my Rainbow Assembly - and I've been upfront with them that I'm doing so. I have on occasion pointed out to them comments, friends, etc that I have concerns about. I'm also fortunate that the girls know that "Mom Clarissa" is just trying to keep them safe so they don't seem to resent me 'intruding'. As a matter of fact they frequently leave me notes which is always fun...(As for Rainbow - it's a girl's service organization for young ladies from 11-21, and is run by the girls with adults as advisors. For more info www.vaiorg.org)
Clarissa

 

Is D-ick Black aware of this???