With shows on Dateline like How to Catch a Predator we know that the internet is a scary place anymore. Anyone with any history can get an internet connection and start exploiting kids online. It’s a gross thing that is happening more and more in our culture. I keep tabs on a few different blogs and Josh Griffin from Simply Youth Ministry caught my eye and has a great post about The Internet: What Parents Need To Know. I am not a parents but there are some great tips in the post and I think it is a MUST read for any parent. Here is a clip from an article from MSNBC he sites;
Learn how to examine your Web browser’s “History” files, or cache. Even if you don’t do it, make sure your children know it’s possible for you to know where they’ve been.
Look around your desktop, start menu or applications folder for suspicious programs.
Keep abreast of all your child’s e-mail accounts; understand that free Web e-mail may allow your child to have plenty of e-mail accounts you don’t know about.
If your child will chat, take some time to come up with an alias, or fake name. Aftab even suggests you give them a fake address and phone number so, if they’re being harassed, they have a way of vacating the situation.
I know some parents call this “invading their kids space” but it’s called being a parent and sadly today too many “parents” are more chaperone’s and not parents. I realize there are a lot of great parents out there and that’s is great. But sadly there are many who aren’t being the role of a parent.
Maybe it’s time parents start being parents?
Filed under: blog life, leadership, life, parental, techno gadgets
[...] Parents Making the Internet Safer (from Serial Youth Pastor) – I would suggest sharing this with all of the parents in your ministry. Sometimes I’m blown away by how little parents know about internet basics. (By the way, I really like this blog! You should check out some of the other posts.) [...]