Moon Library to Present Discussion About Internet Predators

Victoria Asplen said it's not always easy for parents to start the conversation about the perils of online predators.

"I think it's an epidemic," said Asplen, a social studies teacher at Achievement House Cyber Charter School. "Parents are talking to their children, but their children don't want their parents talking to them." 

Achievement House Cyber Charter School today will conduct a discussion at the  about how parents can protect their children and teens from online predators.

The school has partnered with the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office for the workshop, which will begin at 6 p.m. at the library's Beaver Grade Road location. The event is open to the public and free to attend.

Asplen said parents can learn how to better communicate the dangers of Internet predators to their children at the event.

"Rather than telling them, 'Don't do this,' or, 'Don't do that,' parents need to arm themselves with specifics," she said. "Provide your children with examples of dangerous behavior so they'll understand." 

Asplen said the growing use of smartphones, tablets and laptops means parents can no longer monitor their children's Internet activity from a central computer. Online supervision is more difficult than ever before, she said. 

"You need to be much more proactive about teaching children about online safety," Asplen said. "It's great to use software to limit viewing from your home, but children are very resourceful, and they have other ways of accessing the Internet." 

Asplen recommends that parents teach children about conversational warning signs that they might encounter while talking to people online. She said teens should not post information about their whereabouts and should be wary of online strangers who become over-complimentary. 

"The biggest warning sign is if you're talking to someone and they want to meet in person without a parent or anyone else around," she said. "In any situation, if you're going to meet someone, you need a parent or a guardian present."

Asplen said she frequently speaks to her students about dangerous situations that they might encounter on social networking sites. 

"If they start to compliment you physically, that can be a warning sign," she said. "When someone makes a flattering compliment, it's very exciting to a teen, but if you don't know who that person is, you need to be careful." 

She said parents will have the chance to learn about new online tools in place to protect children from predators and ways in which parents can seek help if they believe their child is being victimized online. 

"This event is for parents to use as a tool," she said. "We want parents to have a plan to deal with this."