By John Bartholomew and Cheryl Miller
6/6/2007
Pediatricians at Riley Hospital for Children are taking an active approach to stop internet predators. And, they’re working to make sure parents understand the potential dangers their kids can face online.
The doctors say social networks like “MySpace” or multi-player interactive games like “SecondLife” are favorite places for online predators.
“Children absolutely know about these things while parents may not be fully aware of them, and we have adults who are taking advantage of children on these websites,” Riley’s Dr. Toni Laskey explains.
She says the best way parents can protect their kids is to keep an open line of communication.
“So if (kids) encounter things that make them uncomfortable, they have a place to go,” she says.
Indiana State Police investigator Chuck Cohen says it’s probably not practical to ban kids from all of these kinds of websites. He says it’s better to limit kids’ online contacts.
“One great way to do it is to only allow your children to interact with people in the online world that they know in the real world,” he says. “That way, you have a real face behind a screen name.”
Cohen says another way to find out what your kids do online is to ask them in a non-confrontational way. Ask your child to explain how a site works – allowing the child to take on the role of teacher in showing an online world to the parent.
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