Tween's Computer Use!

Hi K.. I don't have any suggestions. Good luck with that. I just wanted to say thanks for making me, and probably several others, aware of WeeWorld. You might even consider making the local schools aware of the site. Hopefully they already know and have it blocked from the schools system. Do a Google search. You may be able to find a forum about blocking/kid spying software.

Hi K.,

I have a 13 yr son who has had problems in the past finding porno sites. Once when I was pregnant with my 5 yr old so I blew it off thinking he was just curious, but we still banned him from computer use for his own protection.
Second was a few months ago. He had invited a friend to the house while he was watching our 5 yr old. My husband and I were both working that day, but my husband had checked his email that morning, and left the computer for a few minutes. My son grabbed the opportunity before the account password locked and removed the password so he could access it later in the day. They can be very sneaky.
Now the only way my son or daughter can get on the computer is if I am sitting right beside him. There are many more things for him to be involved with besides playing on the computer.

Below is an email I got that you might find pertinent to your personal situation. Maybe it will help you daughter take heed as well.

Either way, May God bless and protect you and your family!
C. N.

After tossing her books on the sofa, she decided to grab a snack and get on-line. She logged on under her screen name ByAngel213. She checked her Buddy List and saw GoTo123 was on. She sent him an instant message:

ByAngel213:
Hi. I'm glad you are on! I thought someone was following me home today. It was really weird!

GoTo123:
LOL You watch too much TV. Why would someone be following you?
Don't you live in a safe neighborhood?

ByAngel213:
Of course I do. LOL I guess it was my imagination cuz' I didn't see anybody when I looked out.

GoTo123:
Unless you gave your name out on-line. You haven't done that have you?

ByAngel213:
Of course not. I'm not stupid you know.

GoTo123:
Did you have a softball game after school today?

ByAngel213:
Yes and we won!!

GoTo123:
That's great! Who did you play?

ByAngel213:
We played the Hornets. LOL. Their uniforms are so gross! They look like bees. LOL

GoTo123:
What is your team called?

ByAngel213:
We are the Canton Cats. We have tiger paws on our uniforms. They are really cool.

GoTo1 23:
Did you pitch?

ByAngel213:
No I play second base. I got to go. My homework has to be done before my parents get home. I don't want them mad at me. Bye!

GoTo123:
Catch you later. Bye

Meanwhile.......GoTo123 went to the member menu and began to search for her profile. When it came up, he highlighted it and printed it out. He took out a pen and began to write down what he knew about Angel so far.

Her name: Shannon
Birthday: Jan. 3, 1985
Age: 13
State where she lived: North Carolina

Hobbies: softball, chorus, skating and going to the mall. Besides this information, he knew she lived in Canton because she had just told him. He knew she stayed by herself until 6:30 p.m. every afternoon until her parents came home from work. He knew she played softball on Thursday afternoons on the school team, and the team was named the Canton Cats. Her favorite number 7 was printed on her jersey. He knew she was in the eighth grade at the Canton Junior High School . She had told him all this in the conversations they had on- line. He had enough information to find her now.

Shannon didn't tell her parents about the incident on the way home from the ballpark that day. She didn't want them to make a scene and stop her from walking home from the softball games. Parents were always overreacti ng and hers were the worst. It made her wish she was not an only child. Maybe if she had brothers and sisters, her parents wouldn't be so overprotective.

By Thursday, Shannon had forgotten about the footsteps following her.

Her game was in full swing when suddenly she felt someone staring at her. It was then that the memory came back. She glanced up from her second base position to see a man watching her closely.

He was leaning against the fence behind first base and he smiled when she looked at him. He didn't look scary and she quickly dismissed the sudden fear she had felt.

After the game, he sat on a bleacher while she talked to the coach. She noticed his smile once again as she walked past him. He nodded and she smiled back. He noticed her name on the back of her shirt. He knew he had found her.

Quietly, he walked a safe distance behind her. It was only a few blocks to Shannon 's home, and once he saw where she lived he quickly returned ! to the p ark to get his car.

Now he had to wait. He decided to get a bite to eat until the time came to go to Shannon 's house. He drove to a fast food restaurant and sat there until time to make his move.

Shannon was in her room later that evening when she heard voices in the living room.

"Shannon, come here," her father called. He sounded upset and she couldn't imagine why. She went into the room to see the man from the ballpark sitting on the sofa.

"Sit down," her father began, "this man has just told us a most interesting story about you."

Shannon sat back. How could he tell her parents anything? She had never seen him before today!

"Do you know who I am, Shannon ?" the man asked.

"No," Shannon answered.

"I am a police officer and your online friend, GoTo123."

Shannon was stunned. "That's impossible! GoTo is a kid my age! He's 14. And he lives in Michigan !"

The man smiled. "I know I told you all that, but it wasn't true. You see, Shannon , there are people on-line who pretend to be kids; I was one of them. But while others do it to injure kids and hurt them, I belong to a group of parents who do it to protect kids from predators. I came here to find you to teach you how dangerous it is to talk to people on-line. You told me enough about yourself to make it easy for me to find you. You named the school you went to, the name of your ball team and the position you played. The number and name on your jersey just made finding you a breeze."

Shannon was stunned. "You mean you don't live in Michigan ?"

He laughed. "No, I live in Raleigh . It made you feel safe to think I was so far away, didn't it?"

She nodded.

"I had a friend whose daughter was like you. Only she wasn't as lucky. The guy found her and murdered her while she was home alone. Kids are taught not to tell anyone when they are alone, yet they do it all the time on-line. The wrong people trick you into giving out information a little here and there on-line. Before you know it, you have told them enough for them to find you without even realizing you have done it. I hope you've learned a lesson from this and won't do it again. Tell others about this so they will be safe too?"

"It's a promise!"

That night Shannon and her Dad and Mom all knelt down together and thanked God for protecting Shannon from what could have been a tragic situation.

K.,

If it's not already, move your computer to a open area in your house where everything can be seen. My parents had issues with my younger brothers and "myspace". They pulled the computers out of their bedrooms and put them in the family room. So now everyone and anyone can see exactly what their up to when they walk by.

I know you can't control what goes on at her mother's house, but maybe the four of you should sit down and talk about this. Let her know you've seen her "weeworld" account and why she shouldn't post things that she did. Talk to her about internet safety. Best for all the parents involved to be in agreement over internet use. Less to worry about when she's not with you.

Dreading the day my boys are old enough to use the internet,
T.

i suggest you use a new product called Plugstop. It is essentially a way of keeping kids/teens off games consoles, computers, tv etc by locking the plug. By doing this you can limit the amount of time spent on consoles and other electronic devices. http://www.plugstop.co.uk/
Hope this helped
V.

I am a firm believer that as long as my kids live at home the computer will be in an open space where I will mostly be to look over when I feel like it to monitor their activity. You would be amazed what you can get away with on AIM or somethign similar.. what you can do on "harmless" sites. And not only do your kids know it, but so do predators who can think like them and convince them what they are doing is ok. If 30 year olds can fall for it, so can younger people. Boys and girls alike. My parents were unarmed in the early 90's as the mainstream hit really for my gineration raise on computers and so didnt' worry when they found out all I did was play WW online... well I can't tell you the things that went on in an rp format... I won't let my kids sit there alone!!! They may not like that you sit nearby or right there some nights.. but someday when they have kids they will understand. Then again we aren't here to be best friends with our kids.. hopefully someday.. we have to prepare them for life. No spyware will ever be able to do what you can.... too many sites can look harmless.. but then again how many kids have dissapeared from places like chuck E cheese?? They seemed harmless enough too. And predators evolve faster then spyware. There is simply no substitue for your eye. Good luck!

ALSO! On amazon.com you can look up the Safe Side videos... they have one on internet safety that may be a good thing to watch with her.