Morning,

One of the challenges parents have regarding their kids is keeping them safe online. The challenge into which we all run is that generally, kids are, well, more naive than Bambi meeting an AK-47-carrying karate master. “It will never happen to me!” they decree, and off they go onto MySpace, happily chatting with anyone who convinces them they’re a peer and worthy of friendship.

Well, let me tell you, I’m a master at fooling kids in MySpace - several of my parenting friends have asked me to infiltrate their kids’ networks so they can see what’s going on. It’s pathetically easy to do. And honestly, that’s just plain sad.

Thus, I’d like to present some resources you can use to keep your kids safe on MySpace:

• MySpace Safety Tips
• Questions about myspace.com and what to do if you have a problem
• The Parent’s Edge
• MySpace Mockup - what to look for on your kids MySpace profile (really good!)

In a nutshell, tell your kids:

• “Kid, I could grab an account, set myself up to be a 13 year old karate fanatic, set my profile to be two towns over from you, strike up a conversation and then request an add. Because we’ve already ‘chatted’, tell me…would you say, sure, why not?”
• “Kid, I could google your school name, find out who are your school mates, contact them on Myspace, get added to their network…and when I then invite myself to yours, you’ll see that your friends are already part of my group. Would you add me?”
• “Kid, I could start a MySpace group on Transformers for kids and ask others to join. After awhile, I’ll send you a note saying, I see you love transformers, why not become part of my group? Would you add me?”
• etc.etc.etc.

Remember! On the Internet, that 11 year old boy or girl could be a 57 year old pervert looking for his or her next victim. Make sure your kid isn’t that individual.

ThankYouVeryMuch!

Owlbert

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ps - speaking about MySpace:
Please click here to continue your search.

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