A Sad Story That Could Have Been Prevented
I came across this story on ABC News that is a feature on the parents of a victim of an online predator. You can read the story here: Victim’s Parents Want Action Against Online Predators. Basically, a 14-year old met an older guy online, who traveled from TX to CA to have sex with her. The girl fell for the guy and hanged herself. The guy is spending 9 years in prison. I encourage all to read the story and the comments that follow. Very interesting – and tragic.
Here are my thoughts: So many comments, and the story in general, are just more proof that parents MUST monitor everything their child does online. This is a very very sad story and one that could have potentially been prevented, had the parents and schools been better equipped (note our SAFE SCHOOLS program).
Kids can be given some freedom on the net, just as we were given freedom to go play in playgrounds; but if you give them total freedom, bad things happen. They are just kids and don’t know any better. That is the honest truth. Oh sure they may know more about computers than you do – but they are not old enough to see how cruel and terrible parts of our world can be – namely the scumbags who go online and prey on young kids and solicit them for sex.
The anonymity of the net is a powerful and very enticing thing. It’s not MySpace’s fault that kids are falling victim to predators. Those who commented on the article and noted that most of the predators are not registered/formerly convicted are correct. True some are, yes… but overall, the creeps are just regular guys who have never been caught in the past. It is impossible to find them.
So, parents, PLEASE protect your kids and your PCs. Use our PC Pandora software. It’s cheap and will last forever (no annual fee or anything). It’s a great tool to use that will monitor and record EVERYTHING on your PC.
Parents, remember that you are the first and last line of defense for your kids against online predators. Educate yourselves, talk to your kids and protect your family.
Surf Safely…
October 10th, 2007 at 10:11 PM
I have an 11 year old daughter. In my opinion, parents #1 job is to protect our children. It is our responsibility to be sure that our kids are safe both online and offline.
The internet is a very scary place. This has been proven several times. Myspace, Facebook, and simple instant messaging are all places where sexual predators can hide. Each of these websites and forums have numerous sexual predators lurking around. Each one pretending they are someone else.
My daughter is allowed to use the internet. She is only allowed on certain websites. Those websites are saved in “my favorites”. She is not allowed in any forums or websites like MySpace. These are the rules in my home. I know she has access to the internet at school, other friends houses, and her dads. I have no way of telling what websites she visits when outside the house.
I know that I need to find another way to protect her from online predators.
October 11th, 2007 at 11:25 AM
I feel that we should give children freedom, but we need to monitor that freedom. While that may be an oxymoron, I still feel children can be free and watched at the same time. A good way to do something like this is let them use MySpace or Facebook, but make them give you the passwords. Then, do random checks twice a week or so. Doing this, along with monitoring software, is giving your child freedom but protecting them at the same time. Just my two cents on this.
October 11th, 2007 at 11:39 AM
Trevor: Excatly. It’s the old playground analogy. When we were kids, we went to the playground and our parents told us not to talk to stragners. If a guy in a big blue van pulled up offering candy, we were pretty cautious and ran home to tell mom and dad. Well, now those guys don’t need the big blue vans and they can talk to today’s kids freely. Let the kids play, but talk to them… and put a camera in the “playground.”
October 11th, 2007 at 4:17 PM
Trevor- I also agree with you. You posted some good tips. I still think my daughter is too young to be a member of MySpace or facebook, but when she is old enough- I will be sure to get her passwords. I think she will be more safe just knowing that I will check out her page, her friends, and anything else that I choose to. I don’t think that this is a “breach of trust”, not for this age- it’s just a check-up to be safe.