Protecting Children Online

I attended a meeting of the Dallas Police Crime Watch tonight, and the subject was "Protecting Children Online" with Lt. Bill Walsh as the featured speaker.

Lt. Walsh supervises the local Internet Crimes against Children Task Force (there are 45 of these around the US). He gave a preso which showed the various ways that child molesters find innocent children, along with some real-life examples, including arrests here in the Metroplex.

interesting statistics:
a) 49% of children don't report solicitations for fear "dad" will cut Internet service;
b) the local police get about 5 tips/day for child porn.

He quoted several studies and articles, including some from the Journal of Adolescence; a Pew/Internet Teenage Life Online; and Operation Avalanche.

Suggestions on keeping your children safe online:
1) keep computer in common area (not bedroom);
2) establish ground rules (use parental controls, automatically limit time online);
3) discuss importance of telling adult - won't cut service;
4) know kid's online friends (don't list email address in ANY directory);
5) know about parental control software
6) avoid realname screen names (use abcd1234 versus SusieSmith99)
7) don't share password with anyone but a parent
(put in sealed envelope, for emergency use only)
8) beware of too much info in Instant Message profiles;
9) remember: people online are not who they appear to be (50 year old posing as 14);
10) check history file;
11) don't depend solely on protective technology - talk to your kids! -- keep communication lines open.

Web resources:
CyberTipLine.com; MissingKids.org; SafeKids.com; SafetyEd.org; GetNetWise.org

recommended books by gavin de becker:
The Gift of Fear and Protecting the Gift: Keeping Children and Teenagers Safe (And Parents Sane)