The Safe Side

This is a great article. Talks about the Supreme Court ruling in favor of detaining s*x offenders even if their sentence is complete. A great way to protect our children!

onnews.effused.com

Do you think there should be a mandatory prison sentence for child s*x offenders? Read this article and let us know what you think. Be sure to contact your local government official as well.

FOXNews.com - WANTED: Mandatory Prison Sentences for Child S*x Offenders content

Some tips for parents on InternetSafety for their children...

Parents: Pay close attention to kids' Web habits

Monday, March 01, 2010

By Maria Sciullo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


Most parents wouldn't allow easy access to television channels
broadcasting pornographic images, but the Internet is proving to be a
different story.

Many are aware that the usual social networking sites such as
Facebook allow their kids to communicate with peers, swap photos, play
online games. But a new generation of graphic interactive sites like
ChatRoulette is a much different story.

"A lot of people just seem to have [malicious] intent, or people are
just there making fun of other people," said Caroline Knorr, parenting
editor of Common Sense Media, www.commonsensemedia.org, an online guide that includes reviews of Internet content.

There is no guardian at the Web portal to tell if a child is logging
on to sites intended for much older users, and even such mainstream
sites as YouTube are filled with objectionable language and s*xually
explicit images.

Ms. Knorr noted that the Federal Trade Commission's Children's
Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 prohibits websites from
collecting personal information -- including Internet protocol
addresses, which identify devices connected to the Web -- from users
age 13 or younger. Nonetheless, parents should pay attention to their
children's browser history.

"What we always tell families is to just have a serious conversation
with kids about what responsible online behavior is," Ms. Knorr said.

There are safeguards parents can take for Web use. Among them are
creation of whitelists to allow access to acceptable sites while
blocking others, and instructions for kids not to "friend" unknown
people on such sites as Facebook. Keep the circle of people with access
to personal information tight.

Parents can choose the strictest setting on their home computer
browsers, and some popular sites such as YouTube now permit users to
enable stronger content filters.

"Clicking on 'safety mode' will filter your results. It's not
perfect, but it eliminates the comments [that accompany the videos] and
you're much less likely to run into objectionable words," Ms. Knorr
said.

Users, especially teens, also should be aware that sites like www.foursquare.com
use GPS to create games resembling scavenger hunts. These sites collect
information that, when combined with personal information from other
sites they might visit, could paint an uncomfortably accurate personal
profile that is available to third parties.

Communication is the key, Ms. Knorr said. Sitting down and
discussing a favorite television show should be no different than
talking about why certain websites appeal to your child.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10060/1039391-84.stm

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