Practical Suggestions for Parents
PARENTS, Some practical suggestions on how to minimize the chances of an online exploiter victimizing your child.
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 Communicate and talk to your child about sexual victimization and potential online dangers.
- Spend time with your children online. Have them teach you about their favorite on-line destinations.
- Keep the computer in a common room in the house, not in your child's bedroom. It is much more difficult for a computer-sex offender to communicate with a child when the computer screen is visible to a parent or another member of the household.
- Utilize parental controls provided by your service provider and/or blocking software. While electronic chat can be a great place for children to make new friends and discuss various topics of interest, it is also prowled by computer-sex-offenders. Use of chat rooms, in particular, should be heavily monitored. While parents should utilize these mechanisms, they should not totally rely on them.
- Always maintain access to your child's online account and randomly check his/her email. Be aware that your child could be contacted through the US Mail. Be up front with your child about your access and reasons why.
- Teach your child the responsible use of the resources online. There is much more to the online experience than chat rooms.
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