| The Seven Signs of Unsuitable Use or | | | | increasingly difficult for children to |
| Contact From the Internet | | | | receive unsuitable material through |
| Home security is about protecting your | | | | their Internet connections. These |
| family, and the most overlooked means of | | | | services have also allowed the parent to |
| entry is sitting in your living | | | | restrict even more the online experience |
| room...your computer. The Internet has | | | | of their children. It is important that |
| become a vast and great resource for our | | | | a parent reviews these increased |
| children to learn things they would | | | | security options and determine if they |
| never have had the opportunity to learn | | | | are applicable to the online situation. |
| otherwise. We all remember having to go | | | | However, most of these sites still allow |
| to the library to research our next term | | | | access of minors to sites that are |
| paper using the World Book encyclopedia | | | | conducive to chatting and instant |
| or the Periodicals catalog. The | | | | messages. It is these areas, as well as |
| Internet Age has allowed our children to | | | | electronic mail, that provide the |
| receive, almost instantaneously, | | | | greatest risk to our children. Unlike |
| information it would otherwise have | | | | the typical phone call, the Internet has |
| taken days to receive. This | | | | no "face" or "voice" from which to |
| "instantaneous" aspect of the Internet | | | | somehow identify the person our child is |
| yields split second access to materials | | | | communicating to. The person happily |
| unsuitable for children to see or hear. | | | | chatting with our child via the Weather |
| So with that said, here are seven | | | | Channel chat room about cumulonimbus |
| warning signs that may show your child | | | | clouds and the report the child is |
| is using the Internet in unsuitable | | | | writing could just as easily be a 50 |
| ways: | | | | year old pedophile waiting for his |
| 1 - Your child spends most of their home | | | | chance to trap the child into divulging |
| time on the Internet. | | | | personal information about themselves |
| 2 - Your child quickly turns off the | | | | and their location. |
| monitor or shuts the computer down when | | | | It is extremely important that we |
| you enter the computer room. | | | | advocate to our school communities the |
| 3 - You receive phone calls from | | | | hazards which exist for our children on |
| strangers asking to speak to your child. | | | | the Internet. There are resources |
| 4 - You recognize outgoing phone calls, | | | | available to you that will expand on the |
| mostly long distance, from your | | | | signs of abuse and the steps to take in |
| residence to phone numbers you do not | | | | protecting your child from experiencing |
| recognize. | | | | this unsuitable content on the Internet. |
| 5 - Your child begins receiving gifts | | | | In the next addition, I'll detail steps |
| from people and addresses that you do | | | | the parent can take in monitoring and |
| not recognize. | | | | helping to ensure that their child is |
| 6 - Your child's personality begins to | | | | not being exploited on the Internet. |
| change, becoming more combative when | | | | ©Walter Stone |
| asked to reduce his/her computer usuage. | | | | Home Security Online |
| 7 - You pull up pornographic or other | | | | Security Systems, alarms, motion |
| unsuitable materials from your | | | | detectors. |
| computer's hard drive. | | | | Read more on protecting your home. |
| The major Internet access sites, | | | | **Usuage of content requires author |
| including America Online, MSN, | | | | name, bio & links remain intact as |
| Earthlink, and others, have made it | | | | displayed. |