There are some very important steps you can take to protect your child,
however. Obviously, one of the first things you need to do is to use the
parental controls that your Internet service provider offers. You can also
purchase blocking and filtering software for your computer. This isn't enough,
though.
Don't let your child have a computer in her room. Instead, place the computer
in a family area, such as a living room, dining room, kitchen, or den. It is
important that your child realize you have instant access to whatever she is
doing online. You should make a habit of walking past the computer when she is
using it. If she seems upset that you occasionally look over her shoulder, ask
her why that bothers her. Explain your worries and caution your child about the
possibility of sexual offenders contacting her online.
Educate her. Let her know that a person may not be who or what he says he is.
If she is chatting in a teen chat room, remind her that the teen she is chatting
with may not be a teen at all. Tell her that she is not allowed to give out any
personal information about herself, including her last name, to anyone. Don't
allow your child to surf the web after you have gone to bed. If you have to, set
a timer on the computer that automatically logs her off after a certain amount
of time.
If your child's personality seems to have changed, try to find out what is
going on. Investigate your computer's history. There is software you can buy
that tracks every site your teen visits. It can also record online
conversations. Search for diskettes that your child may have used to save
information, pictures, etc. that have been sent to her by the online predator.
Keep in mind that even if you remove the computer from your home, your child can
still access the Internet from a friend's computer or from a public computer at
a library.
If your child has a cell phone, pay close attention to the phone numbers on
the monthly bill. If you don't recognize some of the numbers, call them yourself
and ask your child about them. If your child gets the mail before you and you
think something may be going on, open a post office box at your local post
office and instruct the mail carrier to only deliver mail to that box.