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> Risks to Our Children
If you look over the list, you'll see that all but two of the risks are within our children's control. Except when they stumble inadvertently on certain content , they can avoid information that is either inappropriate or dangerous. They can also refuse to fill out forms and registrations online or make sure the information they provide is okayed by you and is being treated responsibly by the entities that collect it. Only cyberstalkers, harassers, and cyberpredators are outside of their control. And until someone develops the "Beam me up, Scotty!" technology or ways to shrink our children so they can pass through the modem lines, your child has to agree to meet them, or has to give them information about where they can be found off-line, to be really at risk. I'll give you tips on how to avoid these risks online, but you need to deal with the fact that your children might be intentionally accessing inappropriate sites, doing dangerous things, and putting themselves at risk. That's the nature of children. (It's especially the nature of teenagers!) Don't worry, though. We can help you gain more control over what your children do online and teach you how to help them exercise critical thinking and make informed judgments. But in order for you to be able to educate your children about online risks, you need to learn about them first. (We'll try to make this as painless as possible.) Some of these risks also involve illegal activities. We'll present a brief discussion of the law on this subject later. But right now the focus is on how these risks operate, and some quick advice on what you can do to try to manage these risks inside your home-through technology, safety advice, and talking to your kids. |
