Did you know...?

• 1 in 5 children who use computer chatrooms has been approached over the Internet by pedophiles.

• 89% of sexual solicitations were made in either chat rooms or Instant Messages.

• 13 million youth use Instant Messaging.

• 1 in 4 kids has been sent a picture of naked people or people having sex online.

• 1 in 33 kids received AGGRESSIVE sexual solicitation (asked to meet, called them via phone, sent mail, money or gifts).

• 25% of youth who received sexual solicitation told a parent.

• Nine out of 10 children aged between eight and 16 have viewed pornography on the Internet. In most cases, the sex sites were accessed unintentionally when a child, often in the process of doing homework, used a seemingly innocent sounding word to search for information or pictures.

• Children are reported missing at the rate of 750,000 per year, 62,500 per month, 14,423, per week, 2,054 per day, and 85 per hour or 3 children every 2 minutes.

• 44 percent of children polled have visited x-rated sites or sites with sexual content. Moreover, 43 percent of children said they do not have rules about Internet use in their homes.

• 11/98 - 11-year-old Josh had been looking at graphic violent porn on the Internet for 20 minutes immediately before stabbing 8-year-old Maddie Clifton to death.

• 6/29/98 - 13-year-old (boy) was in the Phoenix Burton Barr Library viewing porn on the Internet. He followed a 4-year-old into the bathroom and asked the younger boy to give him oral sex.

• While 75% of parents say they know where children spend time online, the truth about kids' Internet habits show 58% of teens say they have accessed an objectionable Web site: 39 % offensive music, 25% sexual content and 20% violence.

• 62% of parents of teenagers are unaware that their children have accessed objectionable Websites.

• 21/5/02 - was the first death of a child linked directly to an Internet Predator?

The Internet is a wonderful tool for communications, education or leisure. It is a library with an incredible 100 million books on every topic known, easily accessible for research and study . It gives you the ability to chat in real time to anyone, anywhere across the world. Its high speed electronic mail routes link up the entire world into a true global village. Its an exciting and essential resource for all our children - as essential as learning to read, write and do Math.

But there are some risks to our children when they are using the Internet, risks which parents need to be aware of. Internet technology is a tool. A tool can be used or abused.

For a long time now the biggest concern for parents about the Internet used to be pornography. Today there is an even greater fear, live chat rooms.

The live chat rooms are the main areas of the Internet where sexual predators cruise searching for vulnerable children.

Due to the relative degree of anonymity online predators are able to deceive children. They may lie about their age or gender. Online predators often establish intimate relationships with children under the pretense of being part of the child's peer group. Since age identification is impossible, kids need to be careful when chatting online with who they think is part of their peer group. Children are curious and trusting. Unless they are well prepared for what can happen in live chat, they may innocently believe what they are told online by strangers.

Predators target children online who appear lonely, have low self-esteem, and lack parental supervision. It is not uncommon for a pedophile to become the online "confidant" of a lonely child, and they will often teach the child how to keep the online friendship a secret from their parents. Online, just as offline, it is the child who is left alone who is most at risk.

Children who have been seduced, lured or abused online in real-time chat generally have parents who are not Internet experienced.

So whats the solution for todays parents?

Top 10 Internet Safety Tips:

1. You need to educate yourself in the use of the computer and the Internet. Both pre-school and school children generally have more of a working knowledge about computers and the Internet than their Parents.

2. As with any other topic, you should openly and frequently talk with your children about the usage and expectations of the computer and the Internet usages.

3. Put the computer in a common room so it and the child activities can be easily observed.

4. Get to know the Internet and any services your child uses. Are the services appropriate for your rules and your child's age?

5. Tell your child to NEVER EVER give out identifying information such as: home address, school names, grade, age, telephone number, etc. With the information available on the Internet and a little time and effort, it is easy to locate information about a person.

6. Keep track of the amount of on-line time your child spends on-line, and what your child is doing while on the Internet.

7. Never allow your child to arrange a face-to-face meeting with another computer user without your permission and supervision. If your child has a special friend, have they received gifts, computer programs, phone calls or any other favours?

8. Never respond to messages or bulletins if they are from an unknown source. Do not reply to the remove me from list or similar message. This will confirm your email is a valid one.

9. If there is a problem or suspected problem with a Chat Room report it immediately. Try to obtain:

a) What is the name of the chat channel or chat room?

b) What is the nickname or screen name or the suspect?

c) Time and dates are very important.

d) If possible, save the chat or at least print a copy of the chat log or user list.

10. Use technology to help you protect your child. Internet Monitoring Software gives you the ability to review your child's Internet usage. Even if you don't look at each and every email or instant message they send, you'll have a good idea if they are making smart choices online.

By following these steps and becoming an aware and informed parent you can help keep your child safe.

Profile: SavvyApps is a privately owned software company which specialises in leading Internet Monitoring & Surveillance Software Solutions for parents who want to monitor their child's Internet usage.

If you would like to learn more about how Internet Monitoring Software can help you or would like some more ideas please use the link below:

Internet Monitoring & Surveillance Software

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