Supervision Needed for Kids' Internet Use

Risks for children on the Internet keep going up. Un-monitored use of chat rooms and wildly popular Internet meeting places such as MySpace.com can place teens and children at risk for Internet predators. MySpace.com has come under increasing scrutiny and is the object of a lawsuit accusing them of not working enough to protect users from predators. Attorneys General in more than 22 states have called for more protection and Congressional hearings are set to begin focusing on how to make the Internet safer for kids.

What should parents do? A recent Canadian study found that fewer than half of parents enforce any rules about instant messaging or chat sites. Un-monitored teens and children are traveling the Internet without any parent protection or guidance. The National Institute on Media and the Family not only encourages parents to be MediaWise, but offers tools to help.

Visit MediaWise.org to learn how to keep your child safe on the Internet with our Internet Safety Series and MediaWise Parental Control Guide.