What is the best way to make sure your children are not seeing bad things on the Internet?
Answer
There is no substitute for parental monitoring (watching your children as they use the Internet). The Internet is a great medium and can be very beneficial to children and adults. Parensts can use the Internet to bond with their children. In addition to watching them, there are filters and monitors that often come with your online service that you can activate for free. This will protect children from innappropriate content and from people who your children should not be communicating with. Check with your ISP to see what measures and tools they have for safety online.
Name
Said
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Profession
Question
What are some of the products available that you would recommend to stop kids from going to pornography site?
Answer
Products like CyberSnoop, NetNanny and CyberPatrol and good. You can get these products online at their websites or go to your local computer store. Most computer stores should have them. These products are very powerful and can:
tell you what your child is doing online.
inform you of who's communicating with your child
stop your child from going to certain sites
stop your child from typing his/her name (the name will be replaced with XXXX)
stop your child from giving out any personal info (name, address, credit card info, telephone, etc.)
Name
Nancy
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Profession
Question
What are the biggest risks that face our children online?
Answer
Muslim Families are very close and some of the dangers that face other communities are not present but there are still some risks such as:
Exposure to Inappropriate Material
One risk is that a child may be exposed to inappropriate material that is sexual, hateful, violent nature or encourages activities that are dangerous or illegal.
Physical Molestation
Although not very likely, there is a slight risk that, while online, a child might provide information or arrange an encounter that could risk his or her safety or the safety of other family members. In a few cases, pedophiles have used e-mail, bulletin boards and chat areas to gain a child's confidence and then arrange a face-to-face meeting.
Harassment
A child might encounter E-mail, chat or bulletin board messages that are harassing, demeaning, or belligerent. This risk may not be life threatening, but it could affect a child's self esteem and, frankly, it's pretty likely to occur for any child who engages in chat rooms or exchanges messages on bulletin boards.
Legal and Financial
There is also the risk that a child could do something that has negative legal or financial consequences such as giving out a parent’s credit card or doing something that violates another person’s rights. Legal issues aside, children should be taught good "netiquette" and to behave online as they would in public and to avoid being rude, mean or inconsiderate.
Passwords: Children should also be cautioned to never give out their Internet or AOL password to anyone even if the person claims to work for AOL or an Internet service provider. When in doubt, children should ask their parents and parents should know their provider's policy regarding passwords (AOL staff, for example, will never ask a member for their password).
Privacy
Children have a right to privacy. Everything about them: their name, age, what school they go, is their business and the business of their families. No one, including reputable companies, have a right to extract this information from children without first checking with the child's parents.
Name
Fatima
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Profession
Question
Where can we find more information about Internet safety?
Answer
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children are the worlds resources for child safety and protection. Contact NCMEC at 1-800-843-5678 or visit there site at www.missingkids.com. They have material that they will mail you free of charge that can help you protect your children online and in the physical world.
Listed below are NCMEC's tips for Internet safety.
1. I will not give out personal information such as my address, telephone number, parents’ work address/telephone number, or the name and location of my school without my parents’ permission
2. I will tell my parents right away if I come across any information that makes me feel uncomfortable.
3. I will never agree to get together with someone I "meet" online without first checking with my parents. If my parents agree to the meeting, I will be sure that it is in a public place and bring my mother or father along.
4. I will never send a person my picture or anything else without first checking with my parents.
5. I will not respond to any messages that are mean or in any way make me feel uncomfortable. It is not my fault if I get a message like that. If I do I will tell my parents right away so that they can contact the service provider.
6. I will talk with my parents so that we can set up rules for going online. We will decide upon the time of day that I can be online, the length of time I can be online, and appropriate areas for me to visit. I will not access other areas or break these rules without their permission
7. I will not give out my Internet password to anyone (even my best friends) other than my parents
8. I will be a good online citizen and not do anything that hurts other people or is against the law.
Name
Jennah
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Profession
Question
Salaam Alaikum,
How big of a problem is it? I don't feel my daughter is in any risk when she is online since nobody really knows who she is.
Answer
Salaam Alaikum,
In January the United States Congress asked that we (NCMEC) conduct a survey to see if the risk was real. You can find the results at http://www.missingkids.com/download/InternetSurvey.pdf.
I can assure you the problem is real and I have personally handled hundreds of cases in the last two years where children have been sexually victimized from relations that started online.
In 1999 I was asked by the FTC to see how big of a problem Internet stalking was. The conclusion is simple. Nobody is anonymous online. If someone wants to find out information about you online they can.
I was interviewed by Jo Cavello in Aug of last year and she tested me to see if I could find out information about her. Within 45 minutes I knew where she lived, the size of her apartment, her neighbors, her phone number, her hobbies, her parents address, and much more. All this started with a simple email address.
Name
Omar
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Profession
Question
Salaam Alaikum,
What should someone do if their child is approached by a pedophile online.
Answer
Any time you or your child sees or experiences situations athat are illegal you should report that to the Cybertipline. (www.cybertipline.com) All reports made to the cybertipline are immediatedly accessed by the FBI, US Customs, US Postal, and local law enforcement.
