WDEF News 12

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Sex offenders are just one of many dangers kids can encounter online.

One local group taught parents how to police the World Wide Webb to keep their kids safe.

When parents think about protecting their kids from dangers online, a lot of times sexual predators come to mind as the danger...and a computer as the vehicle to access the Internet.

Mike Ewton,"That's become popular with TV shows in the last year or two which is very good for awareness."

The director of Safety and Security for Whitfield County Schools Mike Ewton says that could be a costly mistake.

Ewton, "Kids can get online with a lot of things, from their play station unit sometimes, X box, cell phones. There's all kinds of ways to transmit different things so be aware."

That's the message he spread Monday evening at the Dalton Rec Center, during a presentation on Internet safety.

Visions of Hope For Healthy Youth put on the event.

Becky Croft, Visions of Hope "I don't know if it's just not on the parents radar or just what."

Croft points to an impromptu survey to show the need for an internet safety presentation.

Croft, "Out of about 100 or 200 kids they all had Face Book and My Space pages but only one of those out of that group of kids only one or two of those parents actually knew that they had those spaces."

Besides monitoring such spaces for inappropriate information, Ewton warns parents about other dangers like porn, gambling, alcohol, drugs, harmful how to sites...like those promoting eating disorders and suicides... and cyberbullying.

Ewton, "Where it used to be if a kid were being bullied at school, home was a refuge, well it may not be anymore if they're receiving text messages and emails and My Space account is being hijacked. All these things happen and they're very traumatic to kids especially."

Ewton also suggests parents keep the computer in a common area, enter into an agreement detailing online rules, and talk to their kids about what to do if they come across something harmful.

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