Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Internet Safety For Kids

By Tim Tofting

For your convenience, there are four signs that your teenager may be in trouble online. You will want to take action right away, if any of these signs apply to your child.

They Get on the Computer at the Same Time Everyday: Teenagers and children can easily become targets of online child predators, many parents don't realize this. Many also do not realize that this process doesn't always happen overnight. They create profiles that makes them look younger than they actually are, this makes it easier for them to contact their targets. They groom their targets gaining their trust before they try to arrange a physical meeting. This can take a few days or a few weeks. You can spot the telltale signs if your teenager seems to be talking to the same person at the same time every day. If your child follows this pattern it is a good sign that someone is communicating with them on a regular basis.

They Are Secretive When They Use the Computer: Is your child acting any differently while they are on the Internet? But they try to be very secretive and hideaway what's they are doing when they are on Internet? If they close down their computer or hide away their screen, this is a telltale sign that they are doing something that they shouldn't be. This is a good sign that your child may be doing something they shouldn't be doing online, like having direct, personal conversations with a stranger, who may be a child predator.

They Seem To Be Happier Than Normal After They've Been On The Internet: Your child may think they have found a new friend, being all that happy after talking to this person is a tell tale sign and can lead to big trouble. Spotting this sign is not as easy as you think. You can never tell why your child is happy, maybe they had a good day at school or finished off some school work that should have been handed in. Your teenager may be chatting to a friend in a chat room, they may be contemplating getting together with this person which would obviously make them happy. The danger here, is anyone can hide their identity, unfortunately many teenagers don't realize this. This is one of the reasons why you should keep an eye on your child, and even talk to them about what could happen and the dangers of meeting someone online.

Your Child May Seem Depressed: As previously stated, your child may be very happy when using the internet, but another warning sign is that they are depressed, especially when they sign off the computer. What many parents do not realize is that other teenagers use the internet for harassment. If your teenager has a falling out with one of their friends, they may find themselves being harassed online. If that is the case, your child may seem very down, depressed, and withdrawn.

All the signs are just a few of the pressures your child could be under, so make sure you keep an eye on them and stop any harassment as soon as you can.

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