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Cyber Space, a Safe Place?
4 Steps to Preteen Safety
By Sue Marquette Poremba
It is virtually impossible for parents to monitor or control everything their preteen does online. However, there are steps that parents can take to make sure their child avoids danger online.
1. Educate yourself. This means signing up for a blog or learning how to use instant messaging or surfing sites that your children mention. The more parents know about these sites and applications, the easier it will be to discuss them with their preteen.
2. Educate your child. "Putting your child on the Internet is like dropping your kid in New York City," says Cheryl Dellasega, humanities professor at Penn State University College of Medicine. Parents warn their children of "stranger danger" and not opening the door to someone who is unknown, yet these rules aren't reinforced when a child ventures into cyberspace. Another option is the Sereniti Smart Home Network Service, which offers full-proof Internet parental controls that can be controlled remotely by adults.
In a survey of teenage Internet users, Tamyra Pierce, assistant professor of mass communication and journalism at Cal State Fresno, discovered 51 percent have been contacted by and trust a stranger met online. The length of one's buddy list is a status symbol among these online communities, and many kids accept "friends" they don't know.
