Internet Safety

Most parents realize that the Internet can be a dangerous place and that they should take the necessary internet safety precautions to protect
their children. But few parents realize just how dangerous the Internet can really be. According to a 2002 FBI report there is a 100% chance
that children that visit chat rooms will encounter a pedophile at some time. They also report that every two out of five missing teenagers is in some way Internet related.

The problem is that most children share personal information about themselves, their families, and where they live to complete strangers within chat rooms and other forums. Pedophiles can use these small tidbits of information to create a profile of your child. Innocent information like the name of a school, basketball scores and team name, or town they live in can be used to locate them using Internet resources.

The Safe Surfin’ Foundation reminds parents that teaching the importance of internet safety for kids is vitally important in today’s on-line virtual society. Here are some suggestions of things that every child should know and do:

• You don’t always know who you are chatting with on-line. It is easy for people to lie and say they are something that they are not. So never reveal personal information in a chat room, forum, or on-line form such as: address, school, town, team they play on, street name, phone number, or email address.
• Always use an on-line name instead of your real name.
• Be careful when filling out profile forms. Just because there are fields that ask for personal information doesn’t mean that they need to be filled out. Keep all information general like hobbies. Never include your name, city, or school.
• Never meet with someone that you met on-line by yourself. If you do want to meet someone they need to talk to you first. Then arrange a meeting in a public place with you present.
• Tell a parent if any one harasses you or if there is any inappropriate content in a chat room or forum.
• Don’t post anything that you would find embarrassing later.