According to a study done by Dateline in 2006, law enforcement officials say that there are nearly 50,000 sexual predators online at any given moment. Doesn’t sound like a good place for your children to spend time does it? It is a pretty risky thing to send them online in today’s world, yet if the proper action is taken in obtaining knowledge about how to stay clear of unwanted material and internet relationships your children can have fun and be safe while surfing the web.
The greatest thing that a parent can do for their child in regards to keeping them safe online, is to create an environment for them to use the internet that makes it easy for them to stay away from bad sites, and bad people. Utilize internet filters and blocks so that no unwanted material can be easily obtained. Next put your computer into the family room, or in an area where everyone can see what is being viewed at all times. Be nosy when it comes to relationships your children have via the internet, especially on social networks like myspace and facebook. You should know all of your children’s passwords to their favorite sites, and check up on them regularly. Always know who your child is communicating with online and what they talk about.
Internet predators will most often talk to younger children and gain their trust before doing anything out of the ordinary. According to a study done by the FBI, they will spend large amounts of time, money, and energy to become a part of your child’s life. As parents the best way to make sure your children do not become involved with bad people, is to talk to them regularly about their friends and people they know. Pay particularly close attention to the people that they have met only online. Check up on who your child has been talking to and what about. Sexual predators will often slowly try to engage children into sexually explicit material via instant messages and especially email. That is where kidsemail.org can help.
Sharing an email with your young children is vital in keeping them safe from bad people. If you can see and control who sends your child information and what kind of information is being sent, then you are definitely doing them a huge favor in keeping them safe online. Kidsemail.org allows you to do just that. The internet is a vital thing in today’s world. It connects the us all, and it is essential for your children to know how to use it and take advantage of it. They can learn a lot and also have fun while learning to use this essential tool. Let kidsemail.org help you keep them safe.
Internet Pornography is a huge issue in today’s society. Most parents already know that there is no quick fix to pornography. There is almost no way to completely eliminate this information from being uploaded onto the web. A study done by the United States Research Council entitled: Youth, Pornography, and the Internet, confirms that finding a way to absolutely rid the internet of pornography is a near impossible task. The internet’s global reach makes it impossible to make obscenity laws banning pornography when it is uploaded overseas as much as it is at home.
What it comes down to is this: the internet can only do so much for the safety of your children. Parents should take the necessary steps of getting internet filters, and using kid-safe technology to reduce the risk of your child being exposed to unwanted material. The next step of keeping your children safe lies not in internet filters or anything to do with the internet at all, but in what you teach your children about pornography. Be willing to sit with your child while they use the internet and teach them what is appropriate and what to avoid. Have conversations with your children that are not always easy. Teach them good values and morals.
If you do all that you can for the safety of your children in teaching them to avoid, how to avoid, and why to avoid, pornography and other negative influences from the web, Kidsemail.org will do their part to keep them safe from these influences from their email.
It’s been on the cover of People this week and was featured on the Today Show. Parents are growing more and more concerned about Internet bullying. We are concerned about it too. That’s why were are here–to protect children from all types of dangers online.
Feel free to ask us a question about Internet bullying. We will be glad to answer it.
People Magazine ditched it’s coverage of gossip this week to talk about a real problem–Internet bullying. The story focuses on a Massachusetts teen who killed herself after she was bullied online. The story has been featured in many other publications.
This should be a wake-up call to parents to monitor their children’s online activities. You can read more in People this week.
Raising money is challenging. And how many chocolate bars can you eat and how much wrapping paper do you need? Parents, grandparents and co-workers get tired of the same items year after year.
KidsEmail.org has a fundraiser that will not only help earn money for your organizations but educate the public about Internet Safety. More than one third of children report that they are approached by strangers online. Would your kids know what to do?
KidsEmail.org’s mission is to keep kids safe while they are surfing the net and reading their email. By selling KidsEmail.org cards, you are helping parents keep their kids away from online predators and spammers.
Here’s why you should fundraise with us. We offer the highest profit margin in the industry. You can make $7 out of every $10 you sell.
You can learn more about our fundraising program at kidsemail.org/fundraising.
Over the weekend someone left a poll on our Facebook page about “Internet Mobbing.” I was not familiar with that term and I had to look it up. Internet Mobbing is what we often call “cyberbullying.” Kids get together and pick on other kids online. While a lot of this happens on social media sites and in chatrooms, some kids get emails that are hurtful and mean.
Cyberbullying is a serious problem. Some reports indicate that there have been suicides as a result of these incidents. When talking to your kids about Internet safety, make sure you ask them if they are being bullied or harassed online too.
As if parents did not have enough to worry with, Google announced a new form of social media in February–Buzz. Immediatly internet safety experts expressed concerns about Buzz including one feature that allowed GPS to disclose a person’s location.
Google took action this week and has launched some safety videos aimed at teens about internet safety. The videos offer the same kind of advice a most other sites. However, how many teens are going to take the time to watch the videos–unless forced to by a parent.
What do you think of Buzz?
We are always looking for ways to serve you better. In the past few weeks, we have been upgrading our servers (pun intended!). Some of you may have noticed some glitches during this upgrade and we apologize. Most of you should not notice any changes at all.
We have a lot of exciting things happening. Last month we launched our affiliate program. In the next few weeks, we will be launching our fundraising program. Thank you for being a part of what we do here at KidsEmail.org.
Many state legislatures meet during the first few months of the year and most are now winding down. Every year a new crop of laws are introduced regarding online sexual predators. This year Wisconsin is taking the lead in penalizing online predators. Their proposed law would double the penalty for predators who actually meet a child in person. You can read the article here:
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/87398752.html
While it is great that lawmakers are passing tougher laws, nothing substituted parental involvement and education. If you haven’t talked to your kids about Internet safety, do it as soon as you can.
Let’s face it–all parent are busy. Busyness is just a part of family life. And when you are busy, Internet safety may not be the first thing on your mind.
If you have older kids who are basically able to care for themselves you may not be standing over them when they are online. And even the best kids can stray to something they shouldn’t see or be lured by an Internet predator. That’s why you need tools to help you when you can’t stand over their shoulder.
That’s what we are here for–to help you feel confident your kids are okay when surfing the net–even when you are busy.
