Should I Allow My Kids To Use Instant Messaging?

Good luck getting them to stop! Seriously though, whether or not you should permit the use of instant messaging and other chat related tools really depends on your child.

You see, instant messages, chat rooms and blogs are the most common place kids find themselves getting into trouble.

It is not uncommon for sex offenders and online predators to hang out in children's chat room where they work hard to pass themselves off as a teenager in the hopes of getting some personal information from one or more children online.

Should you decide to let your child participate in chat or instant message sessions, and honestly it would be difficult to keep them from doing so, you should insist that they use a monitored chat room that is being administrated by responsible adults and rated G.

AOL & MSN both offer moderated chat rooms as well as does some other sites.

Additionally keeping the computer in a family area instead of allowing the child to have the computer in their bedroom will allow you to monitor what they are doing and who they're talking to.

If your child objects to your presence because of the lack of privacy, they may be trying to hide something from you.

Additionally the use of Internet monitoring software like PC tattletale can be helpful by allowing parents to review their child's online activity if they can't be there in person.

The important point to remember however is that just because the chat room is monitored does not mean that it's 100% child safe.

In fact, you can bet that if the web site is geared towards children and has a community feature, but there will be online pedophiles lurking in presenting themselves as children.


President & CEO,
PCTattletale.Com