As summer winds down so marks the return of thousands of children who spent time at various types of camps. Remember how concerned you were prior to sending your “baby” off to the land of crafts and smores? Well, now a new warning is being issued to parents of young campers: Be careful how your children share their camp experiences—especially online.
Representatives from the American Camp Association say they are concerned with youngsters posting pictures from their camp experience online at MySpace.com and other teen oriented sites. Camp organizers say by doing so it makes young campers easy targets for child predators. In addition to pictures, the American Camp Association says it has found some youngsters providing camp information on instant message profiles and worry that predators will misuse the information to track young campers to their cabin doors.
Recently, the American Camp Association released this statement:
“The American Camp Association recognizes the popularity of online social networking. So it is our job to make sure that camp owners and directors are educated about this particular issue.”
As a result, many camps now forbid campers and counselors to mention camp names and addresses on personal Web pages. They have set the rules, but are asking parents to help out too.
Here are some suggestions they are recommending parents of campers to follow:
· Examine ALL camp rules. Look for policies that limit or prohibit the use of pictures online from cameras and even cell phones.
· Conduct your own Internet search to make sure your child’s camp doesn’t show up in inappropriate places.
· Make sure your child’s summer camp is accredited by the American Camp Association.
· Create your own family rules. For example, suggest that your children share their pictures from camp, but only with people they know well.
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