Kids Gone Wild: Taming Risky Online Behavior

Control and Restrict Children's Risky Online Behavior

The Internet is home to free porn, pro-eating disorder sites and even houses information on how to make homemade bombs. With the advantage of perceived anonymity, kids run wild with curious minds, exploring these extremely dangerous Web sites and testing the limits of technology. Those sites deemed appropriate have hidden dangers in the hands of uninformed users.

Many online risky behaviors are gender specific. Vulnerable girls hoping for meaningful relationships post blogs about their insecurities and dreams, which makes them easy targets for online predators. Through a process called grooming, online predators use these personal issues to develop intense relationships with the girls to get them to comply with future requests that usually involve sexual exploitation. Additionally, a young girl's self-image can be shaped by the constant photos of half-naked women and stick-thin models that are constantly portrayed as an example of beauty.

Seemingly innocent behaviors such as watching a music video online expose kids to songs such as "Lollipop" by Lil Wayne, which secured a spot on the top 100 for months. With lyrics such as "You know I like to touch your lovely lady lumps" (which references the Black Eyed Peas song), it is undeniable that children are getting the wrong message. Since when did any part of me become lovely lady lumps? Our bodies are no longer private, they are lovely lumps to be touched and displayed.

A popular activity for young men that has recently swept the nation is chatting with other players through gaming systems. Players chat through portable headsets, not about game strategy, but to ridicule and taunt the other players. The extent of profane language that is traded through these headsets is beyond comprehension. I have heard slurs and curse words strung together that I never thought I would hear. It scares me that young boys will believe that this language is acceptable or the norm.

And the Internet cannot just be accessed through the computer anymore. Online gaming and cell phones allow 24-hour access to the Internet. Establishing rules for household computer use is no longer enough as teens can easily connect via their cell phones or while playing a video game at their friend's house. And honestly, many teens I know are more adept at using any of the devices than are their parents, so it is not difficult to get around parental rules.

What can parents do to tame children's risky online behavior?

Parental control is what we as parents do to guide our children as they grow up. Parental control is not about control, it is about parenting. Parental control is how we make sure that our children are safe. It is the way we go about providing the best environment possible in order to prevent them from going wild online and tame their risky online behavior. As parents, we continuously exercise active parental control over our children’s lives. We set the rules and we define the boundaries.

In this same way, as actively involved parents, it is important to be involved in our children’s online lives in order to continue to ensure their online safety. Our children need to be protected from online risks so that they may continue to enjoy all of the wonderful benefits that the Internet has to offer.

It is almost impossible for parents to keep up with the constantly changing online risks. However, help is at hand with SurveilStar state-of-the-art child online safety product - SurveilStar Any Parental Control.

SurveilStar Parental Control Software:

SurveilStar parental control software provides smart, easy-to-use, complete online protection. It empowers you as a parent to provide your child with the safest online environment possible. SurveilStar parental control provides you with peace of mind and your child with the opportunity to use the Internet freely to safely play, learn and explore.

Key Features of SurveilStar Any Parental Control Software:

Take Screen Snapshots

Email Monitoring

Website Visit Monitoring

Instant Messages Monitoring

In Stealth Mode

Remote Monitoring

Easy-to-use Interface

Innocent online chats can expose our children to potentially violent and risky online behavior such as bullying or harassment by both strangers and people they know. SurveilStar gives you the best way to correct and avoid children’s risky online behavior, tame their risky online behavior and all kinds of potentially dangerous results and inappropriate material.

Please note that kids' internet safety is a very important issue. Don't hesitate to download the powerful internet monitoring software to monitor your kids' risky online behavior and tame their wild online behavior.