(Excerpted from Sex, Lies and the Media: What Your Kids Know and Aren’t Telling You, Eva Marie Everson & Jessica Everson)
It happens, even to the best of kids from the most [conservative] homes. Kids get caught up in porn. It happened in my day with hidden Playboy magazines, and it happens today with the Internet. But how are you to know that one of your children has slipped into a forbidden world, blacker than black, more evil than evil? Here are a few signs there may be a problem.
• If you child spends a lot of time in chat rooms. Remember, the summer months and school vacations (such as Christmas, spring break, and so forth) are times of higher risk.
• If you find porn on your computer. Online sexual predators use photos—especially those with sexual images of adults and children—to show kids that sex is normal behavior and to heighten their sexual curiosity. When checking for porn on you computer, don’t forget to check CDs and diskettes.
• If your child begins receiving phone calls from adults—especially men—whom you don’t know. This is another good reason not to give your young children cell phones and private lines.
• If you phone records show that your child is making calls, especially long-distance calls, to numbers you don’t recognize. Remember, if your child has at least been savvy or obedient enough not to give out your phone number, there’s nothing stopping the predator from giving out his: “You can’t give out your phone number? I understand. That’s safety. Good for you. How about if I give you mine? That way, we can talk, and you won’t get in trouble.”
• If your child begins receiving anonymous gifts through the mail. A predator will spend any amount of money to get to his prey. Many have sent jewelry, CDs, DVDs and even plane tickets.
• If, when you enter the room, your child turns off the computer monitor or x’s out the page being visited. Also, if you see your child communication in chat rooms or via IMs in a “hidden language” (POS=Parents Over Shoulder; :ox=Shhh; PA=Parent Alert). When this happens, quickly ask what it means. Better yet, learn the language.
• If your child becomes withdrawn, preferring the cyber world to the real world. Such behavior may be an indication that your child has a problem with internet porn.