It is our Job to protect our children.
Yes it is scary. You can help to minimize your child’s exposure to a cyber
predator:

Keep the computer out of your child’s bedroom, a family gathering area is
best.
Monitor chat room use, check computer history, use parental controls.
Require schools and after school programs to institute and reinforce safe
internet practices.
Check  with parents of your children's friends, come to agreements about
monitoring  online use.
Register for SafeWave’s™ iLAND5™, a safe site that helps to keep predators
away.

Insist your child follow rules:
NEVER meet with anyone they’ve met online without your permission.
To tell you immediately if someone begins a sexually suggestive
conversation or any conversation that makes him or her uncomfortable.
Do not give out personal information, even if someone tells you they have a
gift to send you.
No web cam usage if a parent is not present.

Your child may be at risk if they:
Spend too much time on the computer.
Receive phone calls from an unknown source or your child makes phone calls
to unfamiliar numbers.
Quickly turn off the computer monitor or change the screen, if you walk
into the room.

Use an online account belonging to someone else, predators may provide an
account for private conversations.
Your child begins to mention sexually charged words.
Your child becomes withdrawn from the family; it is to the predators
advantage to paint the family as the "bad guy", phrases such as; I trust
you why don’t they? Your parents are so mean.  You can run away. I'll help,
etc...

If An Online Predator approaches your child:

Write down as much information as possible including the date and time of
approach/contact, the screen name and e-mail address of the person who
contacted your child,  find the URL of the chat room and any other
information you can gather. Report the incident to the FBI or local police
department. In addition, you can contact the National Center for Missing
and Exploited Children's cyber tip line at 1-800-THE-LOST.

As parents it is difficult not to feel ill just thinking about the fact
that there are people out there doing this to our children. It is important
to know that you are not powerless to help; educate yourself, talk to your
children, follow safe internet practices, keep updated by attending
meetings in your community, be aware of your child’s internet usage,
express your concerns on our blog, and check our site for updates, articles
and information. I speak for all of us at SafeWave™, we appreciate and
admire those that work to protect our children from the evils of cyber
predators.


Have a Happy & Safe Holiday Season,