Why Do Parents Want an Internet Monitor for Kids?

You don't have to be online very long to become awestruck. The sheer volume of information, perspective and entertainment available is mind-boggling. The web is absolutely incredible.

Unfortunately, for every great information resource there seems to be at least one (if not more) sites you might not want your kids to see. "Adult" content is an Internet mainstay and the volume of images and text unsuitable for children by most families' standards is constantly growing. Meanwhile, the tools children and teens often use to communicate with one another are being hijacked by predators.

It's a tough situation for parents. They realize the value of the web to their kids. They understand that keeping their children offline is impractical. They also worry whether their kids are safe.

That worry seems well placed. According to a 2006 report released by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, kids are exposed to sexual material on a regular basis. More than one-third of kids "saw sexual material online they did not want to see in the past year," the report states. Realize that startling number accounts only for the adult material the kids weren't looking for! If you were to combine intentionally sought material into the equation, the number would be much higher.

In 2005, almost one out of every seven children were sexually propositioned online. Solicitors often attempt to make offline contact with children they meet online and up to four percent of youth computer users received aggressive solicitations, according to the same report.

Meanwhile, according to the National Criminal Intelligence Service, online pedophiles are adopting new technologies and techniques in an effort to prevent detection and prosecution. That's horrible news when one realizes that forty percent of people who face child pornography chargers are also child abusers. Those numbers, provided by Reuters New Service, make it clear that there are some serious online risks.