RealTruth.org recently published an article about the rising rate of child sexual solicitations on the internet. I include an expert:
Approximately one in seven youth ages 10-17 have received a sexual solicitation on the Internet, according to research published by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Youth.
The study, which compared the online victimization of more than 1,500 young people across the United States from 2000 to 2006, showed an increase in the amount of children’s exposure to sexual material through the Internet in addition to an increased level of online harassment.
“While we strongly believe in the power of the Internet to provide valuable information for those of all ages, we also believe children need extra attention and guidance as they venture online, because they, more than any other group of the population, are most vulnerable to risks found on the Internet,” the report stated.
Generally, I believe the internet gets overrated as a threat to children. Parents need to watch their children, and take responsibility for their children. Blaming the internet for negligent parents who do not monitor their children is like blaming parks for child abductions. Children face threats to their safety everywhere. Parents need to protect children from these threats by monitoring the children and by teaching the children about threats and how to avoid them.
Don’t leave children unsupervised on the internet. If you plan to let children–including teens–go on the internet, make sure you understand it as well as they do. We need to communicate with children and make sure they know how to protect themselves on the internet.
Most children know how to get around filters and parental spyware. The best way to know what your children do on the internet is by having a trusting relationship with them and asking them what they do on the internet.
What do you think?
