Ohio State University Extension

Family Life Month Packet 2001

Family and Consumer Sciences

Human Development and Family Science

Fact Sheet

FLM-FS-17-01

Your Child and the Internet

Urvia McDowell, Graduate Student, and Ted G. Futris, Ph.D., Family Life Extension Specialist and Assistant Professor, Department of Human Development and Family Science, The Ohio State University

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reports that nearly 24 million youth ages 10 through 17 logged on to the Internet at least once a month at home, school, or the library in 1999. It is likely that millions will join them in the years to come as computers continue to become more widely available. These children often use it as an educational resource in place of the encyclopedia; a communication source to correspond with friends, family, and pen pals; and as an alternative form of entertainment for the playing of videogames and other fun endeavors. But despite the many pros there are equally some cons for children who surf the Internet. Child offenders no longer have to lurk on child-centered turf such as playgrounds or schoolyards. Now they can just turn on a computer and put your child at risk for victimization every time he or she takes a trip on the information superhighway.

Offensive Experiences on the Internet

According to a study by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children a high percentage of children are encountering offensive experiences on the Internet. These offenses include Internet solicitations, unwanted exposure to sexual material, and harassment. Youth may be encouraged to run away by adults and other youth. Material with sexual overtones is highly intrusive on the Internet. Large percentages of youth Internet users are exposed to sexual material when they are not looking for it, through innocent misspellings, opening e-mail, and visiting web sites. Based on the results from the study, most of the offenses appear to be coming from other youth, and the most targeted population are teens because they tend to use the Internet more than preteens or younger children; but younger children are still at risk.

What Parents Can Do

Headlines continue to support the idea that not every voyage through cyberspace is a protected venture. As such, parents and children need to be attentive to avoiding obscene material on-line and falling victim to Internet offenders. Many of the youth who come across offensive material on the Internet did not tell anyone. But for some of those who did, their parents did not know what to do so the offenses went unreported. There are resources out there to protect your children from on-line offenses and there are several things that you can do to keep your child safe while navigating the Internet.

• Clearly express your rules about what your children are and are not supposed to do while on the Internet.
• Monitor your child's activities on the Internet. Check your computer's Internet history to see which sites have been used.
• Use programs that block and filter the material that can be accessed on your computer. Some filtering programs include cybersitter, cybersnoop, smart filter, surfwatch, and safesurf. Ask your Internet provider for the filtering software that they provide. You may also want to find out if other places where your child uses the Internet (school, library, community centers) also use one of these programs. You can find more information on blocking and filtering software from www.familyclick.com, www.cybersitter.com, www.surfwatch.com, and www.safesurf.com.
• Encourage your child to be careful when chatting with strangers on the Internet. This includes not giving out phone numbers, addresses, or routine activities.
• If someone sends your child messages or pictures that are inappropriate or obscene with the intent to harass or threaten his or her safety call the Cybertipline at 1-800-843-5678 or log on to their web site at www.Safekids.com to report the victimization of your child.

There is considerable power in the Internet as a source of valuable information for all ages. Yet, children need heightened supervision and guidance as they invest time on-line.

Reference and Resources

Visit the family guide to the Internet web site at www.familyclick.com.

Call the Cybertipline at 1-800-843-5678 or log onto their web site at www.Safekids.com.

Finkelhor, D., Mitchell, K.J., & Wolak, J. (2000). Online victimization: A report on the nation's youth. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Retrieved February 6, 2001 from the World Wide Web: www.ncmec.org.

GoodParents.com: What Every Good Parent Should Know About the Internet by R. Maynard. Prometheus Books (2000).

Kids Online: Protecting Your Children in Cyberspace by D.R. Hughes. Baker Book House Company (1998).

The Parent's Guide to Protecting Your Children in Cyberspace by P. Aftab. McGraw-Hill (2000).

Smart Parents, Safe Kids: Everything You Need to Protect Your Family in the Modern World by R. Stuber & J. Bradley. Andrews McMeel (1997).

For more information, visit the Human Development and Family Life website at: http://www.hec.ohio-state.edu/famlife/

Click here for the PDF version of this fact sheet.