Wake Up Call for Parents

How to Protect Your Teen in this Age of Technology

Today's teens are proficient in every sort of digital media in existence. A typical teen can provide miles of information about how an iPod works, how to open a new account on My Space, connect a web cam, etc. Too bad they usually do not do as well with history or algebra.

There are millions of parents in the United States today struggling to keep their out of control teens safe from the dangers that lurk online. The Internet is a wonderful tool, but unfortunately, it has a dark side as well, specifically sites such as My Space, instant messages and the various chat rooms available with just one click. These forms of communication enable our teens to reach out and speak to anyone who happens to be online.

Sometimes, as some very unfortunate parents learned, it can be the wrong person conversing, or even meeting your teen. There have been more than one or two cases where such situations ended very badly. I believe we all have the same goal:

TO RAISE OUR TEENS WELL AND HELP THEM BECOME YOUNG ADULTS WHO ARE HEALTHY IN MIND, BODY, AND SOUL!

Agreed?

So, before you start searching for troubled teens schools, allow me to give you some parenting advice. So, where do we begin? That's simple. The way I see it, our teens are equipped with the latest technology (which by the way, we went out of our way to purchase for them), so we too must attain and familiarize ourselves with anything that can help us. I hate to inform you, but we must SPY ON OUR KIDS! We need to begin our spying journey by considering some sort of monitoring solution or surveillance, key logging program, or keylogging software.

I am not proposing that you spy on your child by following them in a car late at night. I am not an advocate of this method for one very important reason: parents who do this ultimately confront their teens too soon and they go about it the wrong way. I am an advocate of a completely different type of spying.You MUST find out who your teens are chatting with online, the websites they visit, the content of their My Space page, and every action they take online because that is where the real danger lurks. Their strength is in computerized communications and that is where we must go to gather our information.

So, our mission should be:

TO EDUCATE AND ARM OURSELVES WITH THE LATEST AVAILABLE TECHNIQUES AND TECHNOLOGIES.

Recommendations:
- Search and find some sort of online spy software. This type of software is sold under various labels. To name a few, parents' software, tracking software, keylogger, chat spy, surveillance software, and monitoring software. Note that most of the spyware sold on the Internet (which is where I recommend you purchase this so you could download it instantly and directly to your child's computer), is completely undetectable to the user. Your child will never know unless you tell them. By the way, do not confuse this software with anti-spyware solutions.
- If or when you find something disturbing, resist the temptation to confront them right away. Immediate confrontation will only lead them into defense mode, out of which you will get nothing but an unhappy teen. I must clarify, though, that I do not recommend speaking to your child right away in most cases, but if you suspect that your child is chatting or planning to meet with an adult or a stranger, do not hesitate to warn them of the dangers. However, this too should not be handled as a confrontation.
- Remember that your child is socializing online in order to put themselves in harm's way. They are simply making decisions based on the innocence of their youth.
- I know you've heard this one before but maybe you need to hear it again
- talk to your teens! Don't interrogate them. Don't pretend to know what they are doing - because you really have no clue.
- Consider installing some sort of video surveillance equipment in your child's room. I don't think this solution is for everyone but there are teens who are completely out of control and parents may feel this is something they must do. Just make sure you find the proper equipment. Use the Google search engine to do your research.
- Take your teen to visit a teen physician. He or she will spend time with your child in private, discussing their overall health as well as issues that kids face during their teens.
- Discuss health education with your teen. Find out what they covered in school. Encourage them to share information but do not show disapproval. In fact, you should show interest in a particular subject. Use your fascination serve as a tool to help your teen open up.
- And last but certainly not least, love them as if every day you have on earth is your very last. Try to remember this next time you feel like locking them up and throwing away the key!