Keeping Your Children Safe Online

Over the previous decade, the internet has gone from an obscure, unknown technology to a staple of the modern household. Given the new and heavy place of this new communication medium, parents need to be aware how to protect their children from the dangers it presents.

The internet has been described by some as the greatest invention of our age. This invention shouldn't be marred by negative ideas about child safety. While it is a consideration, it is definitely not a deal breaker. With due vigilance, you can keep your children safe online with some common sense procedures.

Parents need to aware of how their children are using the internet. This can sometimes be a difficult task if the children are much more technologically advanced than the parents are. However, it is still important to keep an eye on the screen occasionally while your child is online and look out for suspicious behaviour such as the child closing windows when you approach or other behaviour to prevent you watching what they are doing.

While most children can chat online safely and without incident, parents need to make their children aware of potential dangers and how to avoid them. Predators will often lurk in chat rooms seeking out quieter children for potential grooming. They will often pose as a child of a similar age to the child and engage them in a private chat. It has to be remembered that these predators are patient and will often seek to build a long-term relationship with the child. The relationship, which can start in a chat room, can eventually lead to email, photo swapping, then possibly phone conversations and even eventually actually meetings. Such predators are usually experienced and will often have more than one child engaged at a time, thus adding to their patience.

There has been a number of cases recorded and well publicised in both the UK and the US. A number of convictions have arisen from these cases but authorities still urge parents to maintain tight supervision over their children while they chat online. Detective Howard Jones from the Surrey Area Task Force has said the rate of child disappearances related to computer initiated contact with older individuals has seen a sharp increase in recent years. "Children are often using their computers without the parents having any idea of their activities while online. This has lead to children being unrestricted in what they do, and with whom they communicate. This has the potential for disastrous consequences in a minority of cases."

However, the message entailed is not intended to turn parents off allowing their children to use the internet, as it is one of the greatest learning tools to ever pervade into the household. Rather it is a call to be aware of your child's activities and keep them educated as to the potential dangers in cyberspace.

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