Are your children wiser Internet users than you?
As a parent, how will you protect them on a worldwide basis?
The Otter Tail County CARE (Children Are the Responsibility of Everyone) Committee has planned two public presentations, including one for families in East Otter Tail County.
"The Internet, Your Family and What You Can Do to Protect Them" will be presented October 10.
It is intended to make parents more aware of the dangers their children can be exposed to on the Internet.
ADVERTISEMENT
Parents will learn about
criminal websites
"This presentation is to show the parents what's out there and what their kids can get at," said Brad Vold, Otter Tail County Human Services Supervisor. "We'll show them how easy it is for their children to access dangerous sites and how easily predators can get to them. We'll also give them tips on how to monitor their kids Internet use and parent them without looking constantly over their shoulder. But we'll also show them some of the benefits of the Internet, not just the dangers."
Parents will get information on setting guidelines when their young children use the Internet. Older children's parents will get strategies for personal and online safety to share with their teens. Parents will learn how to send pictures on the net without them getting used inappropriately by others and how child predators use online information.
The East Otter Tail presentation will be offered at the Perham High School Auditorium, 200 Fifth St. SE; 7-8:30 p.m.
Cybersex workshop also set for professionals
"In the Shadow of the Net: What Helping Professionals Need to Know About Cybersex" will be presented on Wednesday, October 11. This workshop is for professionals and others who work with families and youth.
Vold states this workshop "will provide methods, as professionals, for helping parents. We will also look at how the Internet drives the problematic use." Vold likens it to fast food restaurants that target kids, "If you get them young, you've got them forever."
ADVERTISEMENT
This workshop will be held at the Hillcrest Lutheran School Student Activity Center, 610 Hillcrest Drive, from 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. Professionals will be provided with ideas of what motivates Cybersex users and how they access sites. There is a $35 fee per person; or for groups of three or more, $25 per person.
The presenters for each session will be Rick Anderson and Elizabeth Griffin.
State commander of Internet Crime unit to speak
Anderson is a retired commander with the St. Paul Police Department. He is commander of the Minnesota and South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. He is also a training facilitator with the task force. Griffin is a licensed marriage and family therapist with 18 years of experience treating individuals with problematic sexual behavior. She lectures and consults internationally on her assessment and treatment of problematic online behavior.
For more information on either seminar, call 218-998-8150 and ask for Brad Vold or Kay Brown.
