Have you ever wondered exactly how safe your kids are on the Internet? Many parents worry about this and quite frankly, they should. There are predators out there ready to take advantage of your children, and it’s not very difficult for them to do it either! With online networking pages like MySpace and FaceBook, your kids are at risk of being seen by online predators, bullies, and cyber thieves. It is a very different and scary world these days, and it’s a far stretch from the innocence of childhood’s past.
For many baby boomers, our parent’s feared for our safety like any other parents. They feared that their kids would be kidnapped or fall victim to some random crime, of course. But nowadays parents have much more to fear since their kids are exposed sometimes daily via the Internet, to potential stalkers, kidnappers, rapists, thieves, and bullies of every kind. And the danger is widespread since the Internet takes us all over the world. It is scary to think that a predator in say, Scotland, can potentially prey on your kid in small town, USA, from the comfort of his very own home if he so chooses. We can do a lot as parents to safeguard our kids, but wouldn’t it be nice to have a guardian “angel” of sorts, who is looking out for our kids when we can’t?
Well, luckily, there is a network of angels out there and they are called “Teenangels” (www.teenangels.com). This is a group of highly trained volunteers between the ages of 13 and 18, who are trained by law enforcement and who specialize in all aspects of online safety, privacy, and security. After they are trained, the kids run programs in schools to educate kids, parents, and teachers about the safety of online surfing and how to protect themselves and be responsible. It is an excellent and effective way to get the word out about staying safe on the Internet, and what better way to relay that message than through teens teaching teens? This unique program was started in 1999 by leading cyberlawyer Parry Aftab, Executive Director of WiredSafety.org (the world’s largest online safety and help organization and 501c-3 (corporation). Parry is personally involved in the training herself and through a series of videos she has made. Here are a few of the handy tips the program teaches:
* Make everything password protected
* Don’t give personal information to anyone online
* Don’t use your real name (especially on Facebook or MySpace)
* Don’t post pictures you wouldn’t want your mom or dad to see
* Be careful who you talk to (they may not be who you think)
These are only a few of the great suggestions the site and the program offers to teens and now tweens (ages 9-12) as well who are using the internet. The Gorilla thinks this is an outstanding program that even offers training to kids so that they may open a chapter of the Teenangels in their own area. Any program that assists in helping our kids stay safe is fantastic and gets a big hairy thumbs up from this primate; after all, these kids truly are the future!