[January]

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

[Kalamity]

[January]

Thank you, Kalimity!

Hugs,

Jan

[desirae]

I agree 100%.....even if your kids hate you for being so nosey....I think later they will appreciate you for caring and being productive. That's exactly the way it has to be now and days, I will definitely be monitoring my kids on the computer when they get older....no doubt.

[Rhapsody]

AMEN!!! - - -

I have been doing all the things you have talked about in this post since we got a computer 15 years ago..... and while my boys did not like it at first they now understand that we did it to protect them and their future life to come.
As well, we have a filter on our computer that blocks out all inappropriate materials and website's - - -


LoVe,
Rhapsody -

[Maven]

I do agree with that, but I also want to say children need somewhere they can express themselves freely and have some privacy. A diary, for instance. I know some parents who would say, "No, you have to read their diaries, too," but while I believe you have to watch them, I remember being a teen, and I'm not saying this out of the fact that I would have hated my parents spying on me. I am saying it out of the fact that having NO privacy made me feel trapped, and I literally would have trouble breathing, felt suffocated, and would get panic attacks. I believe in monitoring your child a lot, but kids do need an outlet in which they can feel comfortable to be themselves. If they don't have that, as soon as they can, they will be gone, and likely end up in bad situations.

[January]

I didn't say they couldn't have diaries. In fact, my mother found mine when I was a teen and to my absolute horror, broadcast it to the entire neighborhood.

To this day, I cannot keep a dairy because of what my mother did and it's a shame. They help with so many things. Go out and buy your child the nicest, coolest, most awesome dairy you can find and give it to him/her.

They have no right to privacy "ON LINE". That is the issue. Their safety has to come first.

Jan

[Maven]

Jan, I wasn't accusing you of saying anything against diaries or anything. I was just commenting on what everyone said, but not targeting anyone. I know some people who are, IMO, too strict, and it hurts their children, so I just wanted to make that point. No offense meant. But I agree with you...online, they need to be watched by someone who can keep them safe.

[January]

Oh Mav, no prob!! My parents were far, far too strict and it hurt me so much... I was just trying to clarify that diaries are cool!

Hugs,

Jan