KidCareKit
Power Parent Report Monday, December 21st 2006
Politicians And The Kids
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* "When I was a kid...videos warned that if a stranger tried to take you home from school you should report it to an adult. We were taught to not take candy or presents from strangers."
* "Politicians may not understand the Internet...but that doesn’t stop them from hopping on the fear bandwagon when it comes to passing online predator laws."
* "While offenders are vile and horrible people who should be locked up for a very long time, the energy and money politicians spend...passing laws to register e-mail addresses, could be better spent on educating kids about real issues."
* "The computer is not a babysitter. It requires constant attention. It is a portal to the real world, and in the real world there are dangers, con artists, jerks, criminals and inappropriate materials."
New, Tougher Sentences for Internet Crimes Against Children
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Youth Internet Safety Task Force
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FINAL REPORT
www.vaag.com/InternetTaskForce/ReportYISTFfinal.pdf
* "The Task Force found a significant need for greater parental involvement and awareness of the potential dangers for children online. Therefore the top recommendation of the Task Force is the creation of a sustained statewide education, awareness and media campaign. Parents and kids must be more aware of online dangers and they must be equipped with safety solutions."
Parents warned of youths' Internet activity
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* "a very candid talk with parents about the serious dangers their children may face online."
* The biggest risk children are "students with free time until their parents get off work...those who are online for more than five per hours a day and those who have multiple online profiles."
* Many Parents "suspect that chat rooms are the most dangerous place for children to be online...online social networking sites like MySpace.com...are becoming the new stomping ground for online predators because of the versatility and personal information that is presented...the biggest problem with such websites is the fact that young people tend to be overly open with the information they offer about themselves, coupled with the encouragement of contact with virtual strangers."
* "one in five children have been sexually solicited online and one in four received unwanted sexual images from other Internet users."
* "In some cases, particularly with adolescents, youths actually seek out adults" online
Space for bloggers to get caught up in a tangled web
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* Has some useful basic information about how MySpace works
BMS students learn Internet safety
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* “Be sure you choose a screen name that does not identify you as a boy or a girl,” he said. “There are sexual predators out there everyday and they are looking for you.”
* "children could be targets of cyberstalking or harassment"
* "Other Internet dangers include sexual exploitation or enticement"
* "students should not disclose their age, address or telephone number while chatting online."
British police warn of online pedophile risk
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* London Child Abuse Investigation Command (CAIC)
* "Detectives say the pedophiles focus on the social networking Web sites"
* "MySpace, has 130 million users worldwide, 31 percent of which are under 18."
* "31 percent of young people aged from 9 to 19 had received a sexual communication whilst online but only 7 percent of parents were aware of this."
* "one in 12 children had met someone face-to-face who they had first engaged online"
by Adam J. Richter M.S. of KidCareKit.com
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