Online Predators

The online world can be a very beneficial place for education, research, or even a great way to meet new people, but how will meeting a new friend turn into something dangerous and possibly life-threatening? All over the internet predators are waiting and looking for their prey (your children). They are willing to put anything into it: considerable amounts of money, time, and energy. Predators will attempt to communicate with their desired prey by whatever means necessary and do whatever it takes. At first, the predator may seem caring and sympathizing towards a childs' problems or worries about his/her life and after some time, the predator will work their way into your childs' life by breaking down their barriors and will begin intorducing sexual content. Alsmost always, the predator will fake who they are; a fake name, job, where they live, and where they work. They try to adapt their lifestyle to fall into place with their prey. For example: a child who admits to loving to swim, the predator may say he/she works at a local pool and that they should go for a swim sometime. A few good ways to prevent your children from encountering the wrong people are:

1) Keep your children informed and make sure they know what the possibilites of the internet are

2) Keep your computer in a family room or frequently used room so you can monitor what your children are seeing and when.

3) Monitor the websites visited and set parent controls

4) Make sure content is age-appropriate and isn't for a more mature audience

5) Don't believe it won't happen to your family...because it can. Take action before it's too late


I thought this website: http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/special_initiatives/wa_resources/wa_shared/backgrounders/online_predators.cfm

was very interesting and well thought out. It had great information on how to see if your child was hiding something, how to prevent it, and how to deal with it. There is no doubt in my mind that every child should be carefully monitored online to make sure they are not being harassed or getting involved in a dangerous relationship. I think the online world is extremely dangerous if not used and monitored properly and I would encourage every parent to read about 0nline predators before allowing their child to continously be on the internet.

This video is from Columbus, OH which is not too far from where we live. I chose this one because of how close to home it is and that makes it easier for us all to relate. I loved how it also brought the teaching aspect into online predators and showed that we can even be a huge help in childrens online experiences. We need to keep our ears and eyes open to what we hear and see and this is exactly what this young teacher did. She developed a book, now sold in stores, about online predators. It is a twist off of 'Little Red Riding Hood' and it is developed very well. It thoroughly explains to young children how to be careful yet it is still age apporopriate.