The dangers that face children on a daily basis while logged into MySpace.com are startling. With over 50 million users and virtually no monitoring of the site, it has become a sex offender’s paradise….and a parent’s worst nightmare!

MySpace.com is a flurry of activity for teenagers…they can share pics, talk about school, sports, other kids, you name it. It would be very naive to think that a sexual offender or a pedophile would not show up on a site such as this.

According MySpace.com’s TOS it is against the rules to have an account if you are under the age of 14…but kids are kids…and they have found a way around being under the specified age. Due to the fact that the ratio between users and monitors is way out of proportion, there really is no verification of age being done.

MySpace officials have stated that they have every available staff member staffing the site…but it’s still not enough. It opens the door up for deceit and lies, just what a sex offender thrives on.

Teens have this sense of security that tends to shield them from the real world happenings.

Although per MySpace.com’s TOS it is forbidden to do so, teens will often post personal information like their phone or cell numbers, addresses, and even their real names, without thinking of the repercussions of such information leaking out to a potentially dangerous person.

The moderators of MySpace really cannot stop it…again due to that ratio of monitors to users.

A sex offender will often pose as a teen themselves to gain the trust of another teen. The conversations start out innocent enough simply talking about sports, school, and peer pressure.

But gradually the discussions turn to a more personal nature and sexual solicitation begins once the trust of the child is gained.

After all they believe that they are talking to someone of their own age..whom they think understands and empathizes with them. From there the conversations could lead to potential face to face meetings.

The best defense a parent has to prevent a child from becoming a sexual offender online is to educate them. Teach them about the potential problems lurking on the internet…let them know what to look for and how to avoid it….BEFORE it happens.

Welcome to our library of articles carefully selected and written to address the needs of parents children and teenagers were growing up online.

Here you’ll find articles on a multitude of topics ranging from parental controls and Internet monitoring, to online dangers and Internet safety tips. We also provide articles on topics such as teen substance abuse and peer pressure.

Please take a moment to peruse the selection of parenting articles below, we’re sure you’ll find something both interesting and helpful.

Remember to bookmark this page as we update our parenting articles library frequently.

1. Safety Basics for Children Online – An excellent checklist of the ten things parents can do right now to keep their child safer online and…
2. Teen blog safety – The internet provides the ultimate form of expression. You can be anything online, you can say anything and you have the ability to reach out to people…
3. Dangerous Teen behavior – The Internet need not be a ticket to danger. Although the potential does exist, many young people use the Internet…
4. Sex Offenders on MySpace.com – The dangers that face children on a daily basis while logged into MySpace.com are startling. With over 50 million users and virtually no monitoring of the site…

1. Always keep the computer in a public place. This way you can physically monitor your child’s use.
2. Restrict time spent online. It’s not healthy for a child to spend too much time online.  If your child is avoiding other activities to use the internet this indicates that maybe they are spending too much time online. Aside from homework and school activities give your child some personal time but keep track of what they are doing and how long they are spending online.
3. Stay active in your child’s online life. Get to know their online friends, show interest in what sites they are using.  If they are blogging you may want to know the address so you can monitor the content.
4. Learn the technology. If you don’t know something get your child to walk you through it.  Ensure you understand the technology they are using.
5. Learn the jargon. Children using the net have a whole language of their own. Familiarize yourself with acronyms used in chat and IM conversations.
6. Talk to your children about internet safety.
7. Protect your family’s privacy. Your children should know that giving out personal information online is unacceptable.
8. Research internet filtering for young children and teens. There is a lot of content out there that you would never want your child to see. Filtering allows you to select keywords that you want to be blocked.  This means any site with those keywords in their code cannot be accessed.
9. Monitoring software is also a viable option. If you are worried about your teen or just want to know what they are up to online a monitoring package can be a godsend.  Monitoring software tracks emails, chat and IM conversations, pages downloaded and even keystrokes.  You will feel a lot better about your child’s safety with a package like this.

   If your child is being harassed online or if there is any strange activity occurring you should report it immediately to your ISP.

10. Teach your children to so the same. Under no circumstances should your child be allowed to meet unsupervised with anyone they have met online.  If there is to be a meeting you should accompany them to a public place.

The internet provides the ultimate form of expression. You can be anything online, you can say anything and you have the ability to reach out to people.

Blogs are so appealing because they allow for a kind of interaction previously not enjoyed online. A blog is your own little piece of the web where you decide what content you want to put out there.

Most teen blogs are interest blogs or journal type blogs. Most teens interact with real life friends using their blog as a way to keep in touch and communicate. The problem with this is that teens tend to forget where they are sometimes.

A blog can be viewed by anyone anytime. You can’t imagine who might be reading it. If a teen gets to a place where they feel comfortable and relaxed they are likely to reveal more than they should.

So what are the dangers of a blog? Firstly, a blog is a public piece of the web that means that anyone can read it and comment. Many teens use blogs like a personal journal revealing intimate thoughts and feelings.

Unfortunately this is playing into the internet predators hands. Internet predators and pedophiles are experts at getting information out of their targets. They use this information to connect, to form a relationship and to gain trust. If teens are just handing over this information they are asking to be targeted.

Information your teen should never reveal in a blog includes:

1. Personal details such as phone number, address, school or family name. This is private information that could be used to make un wanted contact or to identify your teen.
2. Photographs that can be used to identify them or the area or school they live in. Even something as simple as a background image could give away your location. This is potentially deadly when your dealing with internet predators.
3. Details about where they hang out. Even though it seems ok to talk to friends about what you did on the weekend or where you went you have to consider the idea that information like that can be used to locate you.
4. Sexual information, this can invite unwanted attention. This can be disturbing and dangerous for teens. A blog is public domain and therefore should not be used to reveal private information.
5. Full names of friends of family. This can be dangerous for the people you name as it can be used to locate them.
6. You should not as a general rule meet with someone you have met on a blog.

Check comments regularly and do not respond to messages that make you uncomfortable or are harassing in any way. You can block offensive people from commenting on your blog.

The Internet need not be a ticket to danger. Although the potential does exist, many young people use the Internet to safely explore new learning opportunities and to access a vast information pool.

With your help, children can safely avoid many of the dangers, and have primarily good experiences with the Internet. As a precaution, it is a good idea to check in with your children regularly to be sure that they are strictly observing family Internet rules. Share your concerns with your child if you notice any of the following patterns or changes:

1. 1. Your child spends an inordinate amount of time on the Internet or in chat rooms (this is where they are most likely to be vulnerable to predators that study children as they plan their approach)
2. Your telephone bill includes calls to numbers that are unfamiliar to you and that your child has difficulty explaining.
3. Your child receives mail and/or packages from people and addresses that are unfamiliar to you (predators often use gifts to make themselves more appealing and to gain a child’s trust)
4. Your child becomes secretive with computer use (it is understandable that children will want some privacy, but parents should be concerned if the screen is switched off every time they approach the area).
5. Your child becomes withdrawn from friends, family and/or previously enjoyed activities (predators have worked very hard at perfecting the “understanding and sympathetic” approach and some children may come to believe that “no one else really understands how they feel.”
6. Your child is using an online account other than the one that you set up or have knowledge about.
7. A check of your child’s history folder reveals visits to pornographic sites.

Talk with your child immediately if anything about their Internet use makes you feel uncomfortable, and remember to use a tone that conveys concern and invites conversation rather than anger and arguments.