BY SANDY CUNNINGHAM

L’Observateur

There is filtering software installed on all St. John the Baptist Parish public school computers, so when children are using them in computer lab they are protected.

When they get home and log on, however, things could change.

Times have changed, and in addition to all the worries parents have about where their children are and who they are with, parents now have to worry about what they are doing online.

They could be exposed to inappropriate material. They could be chatting with a sexual predator. They could be harassed and bullied by someone they know.

According to research studies conducted by The Nielson Co., approximately 16 million U.S. children ages 2 to 11 are active online. This shows an 18 percent increase over the past five years, while the overall Internet population only increased usage by 10 percent. Furthermore, the amount of time children spend online is 63 percent higher than just five years ago.

Internet safety tips are posted in local school computer labs. And though it isn’t in the curriculum, parish computer lab teachers stress the importance of internet safety to their students.

But Bonnie Dinvaut, educational technology coordinator for the parish school system, said while social networking sites are off limits on school computers, students are involved in sites such as Facebook when they get home.

And because of this, parents must be involved.

According to safekids.com, an informational site filled with safety tips for children, if a parent has cause for concern about a child’s online activities, he or she should talk to the child about it. Parents should also seek out the advice and counsel of teachers, librarians and other parents. If your child tells you about an upsetting message, person or Web site encountered while online, don’t blame your child but help him or her avoid problems in the future.

This will keep the lines of communication open, experts say.

One problem on the increase with the growing use of the Internet by children is cyberbullying. A cyberbully is a minor who uses the Internet, phone or another digital device to post hurtful messages or images to another minor.

Parry Aftab, executive director of the charity that runs StopCyberbullying.org, said, “They do it by posing as each other, stealing or misusing their passwords, stealing points in online games. They call each other names or send offensive messages to their friends while impersonating them. They even take embarrassing pictures of others and post them online.”

Cyberbullying affects children as young as 7 and up through high school. According to a yearlong survey of students in the U.S. and Canada conducted by Aftab, results showed that:

• Cyberbullying starts as early as third grade, peaks in fourth grade and again in seventh and eighth grade.

• 75 percent of teens reported cyberbullying someone else, and 85 percent of students reported they had been targeted at least once in the past year.

When kids are still in grammar school, the direct attacks usually consist of making fun of each other and testing limits. In middle school, cyberbullies attack classmates’ reputations, and it can escalate from there as children move into high school.

Aftab recommends open communication between parents and children.

“Encourage discussions about what they enjoy online,” she said. “This way you can direct your children to safe sites that fit their interests, and it helps your children know you want an active role in their life.”

It’s important to make sure your children feel comfortable coming to you with questions. A survey by WiredSafety found that only 5 percent of middle schoolers would tell their parents if they were cyberbullied and that they have identified more than 50 different reasons not to tell their parents.

The most important thing parents can do to protect children is to monitor computer and Internet usage.

“Knowing you are watching, kids are less likely to put themselves in risky situations, and you can safely oversee negative or dangerous behaviors,” said Aftab.