Tag Archives: internet safety

Reporting online child predators – The CyberTipline

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Plenty of adults do not know where or how to report incidents involving child predators or child sexual exploitation. Often, if parents or teachers find out about children who have been sexually solicited or targeted, they do not report the incidents. When adults do report incidents, often they stop short of filing reports with local law enforcement or a national child protection agency. Luckily, there are numerous resources for reporting sex crimes involving children. One of which I want to introduce is the CyberTipline. If you missed an earlier blog about the epidemic of online child sex crimes, you can … Continue reading →

The epidemic of online child sexual crimes

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The issue of keeping children safe from online child predators has steadily increased over the past few years. From newspapers (e.g., New York Times) to news journal shows (e.g., Dateline NBC) to popular daytime shows (e.g., Oprah), the topic has been discussed. I am amazed, however, at the number of parents, teachers, and adults who still think that the epidemic of online predators is not really an important issue. Yes, that’s right. I call it an epidemic. Thousands of children each year worldwide are solicited and even abducted as a result of participating in unmonitored online activities. It’s time for … Continue reading →

Keeping Your Teen Safe on the Web

Since we can’t keep our children on a leash, a concerned parent has to teach her children basic safety rules: don’t talk to strangers, look both ways before crossing, etc. Teaching them the value of, and the reasons for thinking ahead to prevent danger, is perhaps the most important help we can give them as they advance towards the inevitable: adulthood. The same applies for safety on the internet. There are a number of aids you can use to prevent your teen from gaining access to sites and experiencing situations on the web that would best be avoided. Microsoft has … Continue reading →

Teen Blogging: Beware!

Blogging isn’t just for us adult techno-geeks anymore! If you haven’t heard of MySpace.com, the number one (but certainly not the only) free blogging website used by teens today, chances are your pre-teen or teenager has! Some statistics suggest that children ages 13 – 17 make up over half of all internet bloggers today! Children as young as 9 and 10 years old are making themselves at home on these free blog websites, creating homepages filled with every personal detail including photos, lists of hobbies and interests, family details, location and income details and, frequently, blogs containing up to date … Continue reading →