Wed. night I was priviledged to attend a seminar on computer safety. Spam, phishing, spyware, identity theft, etc were covered along with ways to protect yourself.

There are agencies to whom you can report abuse. One of them is the FBI.

Also presented was the issue of online predators. Force your child to use a computer in the living area. Make sure you can see what's on the monitor. Know the lingo and acronyms that kids use. There are now programs parents can buy to install so they can monitor their children's computer activities every day. Buy one and use it.

Tell your children every day how to be safe on the computer, at school, at the mall, etc. Know where your children are and with whom.

Invasion of privacy? You bet! Who says kids are entitled to privacy in a world like ours? Check where they are going online. Check where they are going IRL. You can even buy them a cell phone with a GPS system so you can tell where your child is as long as he/she is carrying the phone.

No kid is going to like it. You're going to hear howls of rage and indignation when you demand to know where they are, with whom they speak and what they're doing on the net. Too darn bad. You're the parent. You aren't supposed to be their buddy.

Be active. Be proactive. They'll get over it eventually and you'll have a healthy, alive young adult who made it through turbulent times thanks to a parent who cared enough to take the rough road instead of the easy one.

Jan