How to keep your child from meeting an online predator

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How to keep your child from meeting an online predator

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How do parents keep their children safe from online predators? It takes more than putting parental controls on your home computer in this day and age because really children have an ability to get online in numerous ways. Many have their own smartphones. They have their own laptops. They have their friends´devices that they can use. They have school and they have libraries that they can use to access the internet. So it is not about either parental controls or looking over a child´s shoulder, it is much more about education. Parents have to have an ongoing dialog with their children about online predation. The reality is that while we know who the predators are in our neighborhoods now because of things like Amber Alert, things like awareness, things like education, the online community, the world wide web, still offers total and complete anonymity. You may be thinking you are talking to the cool surfer boy across town when in fact you are talking to 65 year old Chester the molester who wants to do nothing more than to lure that child away and to be able to commit crimes against them. So I guess at the end of the day the best way to protect against online predation is to have an ongoing dialog with your children so that they understand that they cannot share too much information and that in fact they have their privacy settings set in such a way that nobody can access any of their online profiles unless they are known to them and they are a real friend.

View Marc Klaas's video on How to keep your child from meeting an online predator...

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Marc Klaas

President, KlaasKids

In the aftermath of the Oct 1, 1993 kidnapping and murder of his 12-year-old daughter Polly, Marc Klaas gave up his lucrative rental car franchise to pursue an aggressive child safety agenda. In announcing the formation of the non-profit KlaasKids Foundation in September, 1994 Mr. Klaas said, “we can give meaning to Polly’s death and create a legacy in her name that will be protective of children for generations to come by pursuing the singular mission of stopping crimes against children.” Through federal and state legislative efforts Mr. Klaas promotes prevention programs for at-risk youth, stronger sentencing for violent criminals and governmental accountability and responsibility. Mr. Klaas travels extensively through the United States facilitating child safety events, encouraging innovative solutions and proven programs that positively impact crime, abuse and neglect that plague children in so many of our communities. He also counsels and advises numerous victim families and families of kidnapped children.

Teaching Kids to be Safe
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