How can I help protect my child from online predators?

Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for online predators to set up false profiles, use a fake picture and a cool name to attract young teenagers to their networking site so they can take advantage of them. If a predator of any kind targets your child, teach them to not respond, block the offender and immediately report them to the hosting site. You will also need to report the offender to the police. If you don't, they may never get caught.

If a predator targets your child, teach them how not to respond, block the offender and immediately report them to the hosting site. You will also need to report the offender to the police. If you don't, they may never get caught.

You can use Facebook's privacy settings so that your child is directly interacting only with people they know, and more importantly, you should hide information such as their age, photos, school, and full name from people who are not direct friends. 

If you're monitoring regularly, look for photos of strangers within their friends’ list, even if they look like they are your child's age.

Emphasize to your child the importance of completely avoiding people they don't know in real life. Even if the stranger's profile says that they are the same age as your child and that they go to a nearby school, the profile might be a fake. A good way to tell if the "friend" is suspicious is if that person isn't connected to most of their other friends. Make sure your child reports any stranger who tries to contact them or engage in any inappropriate activity.

Kids' Internet access is now everywhere -- from laptops, to television screens, to cell phones and Ipods. In the past ten years, the amount of time our kids spend online daily has tripled and become a regular part of even our younger kids' lives. Though there are clear benefits, the Internet also poses unique parenting challenges. How does a parent know if their child is engaging in inappropriate Internet activities? And how would you know if your child is cyberbullied if he doesn't tell you?

Fortunately, there are steps parents can take and clues that help us monitor our cyber-kids and keep them safer online: the key is we just need to learn what to look and listen for.

Keep in mind that you can't monitor what you don't understand and 64 percent of teens say they do things online that they wouldn't want their parents to know about. So read those directions for each digital device. Attend workshops in your community or schools about Internet safety or ask your child to teach you how to use each digital device. Get savvy about your child's online world so you can monitor. And do create clear Internet rules and post them on the computer.

Three Internet rules are especially critical:

1. People: Never meet anyone offline that you meet online. People are not always who you think they are online.
2. Public: The computer is public, so do not post unless you want the world -- and Grandma -- to read it. There are no take-backs!
3. Private: Do not give out personal information -- passwords, name, birth date, address, location, school name, social security numbers, and photos with personal data -- or make it easy for people to find you.

Review those rules frequently and consider having your kids sign a pledge to adhere to them. Now you're ready to become your family's webmaster.