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Readers' comments on any of these resources are alsways welcome! Do email us via feedback@netfamilynews.org.Detective Williams's Tip No. 6 - 'Parents, check out summer camps' Internet policies'
"This is the time of year parents are making plans for summer vacations and "sleep-away camps." Camps have many themes, from drama to sports to computers. Even "generalist" summer camps now offer computers and Internet access to attract more campers. When parents register children for summer sleep-away camp, they should ask some important questions if Net access is in the brochure....
- Is there an adult supervising the children while online?
- Is chat or instant-messaging allowed?
- Is filtering or monitoring software on the machines?
- What is the camp policy regarding visitors?
"You can see where I'm going with this. If your child is at a camp for an extended length of time and has online access, s/he may become friendly with someone online, as often happens because kids love online communications. In the event the child attempts to meet this new cyber-pal (which may be easier because s/he's not under parent supervision), will the visitor be allowed access to the camp? If the visitor is a predator, he could tell camp personnel he's related to your child, and they may not know to question that claim.
"Just another precaution my experience with kids and online safety tells me concerned parents may want to be aware of. In these times of anytime-anywhere Net access, it goes for any situation in which a child may be away from home for a while - including grandma's house."
Det. Bob Williams is a father of two high school students and Youth Officer in the Greenwich, Conn., Police Departmen. You'll find other parts of this series here.
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