Jonathan Sin asked:


Children of the pre-teen years all the way up to the teens rarely play with toys anymore – certainly much less than those of the earlier generation, thanks to the advent and rise of modern technology, most notably the Internet. Games can be found on computers and the Internet, even for kids, which are most often the substitute for actual playing with other kids. Times have indeed changed with children preferring to interact online rather than for real.

While computers and the Internet are good sources of amusement and entertainment for children, dangers lurk around every imaginable “corner” of the Internet, from the actual gaming sites to hardcore pornography sites which can pop up with one simple click of the mouse. Social networking sites like Friendster and MySpace, known to attract those of the younger generation, are also the haven for perpetrators looking for innocent, unsuspecting victims that they can find easy to trick, such as children, who are the most vulnerable.

As a parent, you need to find the various ways possible to protect your child from the dangers of the Internet, while still allowing him/her the privilege of exploring it. However, it is understandable that at times, the child can be secretive and will lie to his/her parents. Yes, he/she is only exposing him/herself to the dangers of the Internet, but a parent can only do so much when the child lies. If all avenues of protection have been exhausted and the child still gets into Internet trouble, as a parent, you need to know who to call.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is usually the agency that handles cases like these wherein the child is exploited by unknown perpetrators on the Internet. Perhaps the perpetrator sent or allowed the child to view pornographic materials, whether photo or video. Since this is bound to have a significant deal of psychological effect, the agency mentioned will help your child deal with that fact. The hotline for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is 1-800-843-5678.

If the act occurred on a social networking site such as MySpace or Friendster, you may try calling the site owners and/or operators and give the username of the perpetrator if you’ve managed to obtain it. Although this could be somewhat of a long shot (due to the fact that it is accessible from any computer in the world, including in countries without specific laws dealing with these situations), you could still try it as the very least these social networking sites could do is to ban the user from their sites.

Of course, if any sexual act, criminal activity, and/or suspicious behavior occurred, you have to notify the local law enforcement agencies. If the police are able to catch the perpetrator, it could prevent him from victimizing other children. Also, the police are very adept with modern technology and can catch a perpetrator during any criminal activity or just prior to.

It is also important to notify your internet service provider. If a perpetrator tricks your child into going to a questionable site, you can have the internet service provider block that particular site and also warn them to warn the other clients of the said service provider. That way, the effect of the questionable site is greatly lessened.

Aside from the social agencies, law enforcement agencies, and others that will help in this problem, it is also good to inform other parents who are experiencing or will experience the same problem of a child spending a lot of time on the Internet. Should your child be victimized, warn the other parents, whether they are the parents of your child’s schoolmates, family friends, or those in social clubs, of the dangers of the Internet and how to prevent a child from being exploited. This will go a long way into helping solve a problem that affects the whole world.

Schools should also be notified, beginning with the school your child attends. Schools can give pep talks regarding the dangers of the Internet, what to do when faced with questionable circumstances, etc. Sometimes, schools have a way of reaching the children the way parents can’t.

Knowing who to contact will definitely help solve this world-wide problem of child exploitation via the Internet.