I recently had a mom ask me how she would know if her child is at risk for things like cyber-bullying and predators online.  I put together a quick quiz you can take to determine whether or not your child may be at risk.  Please understand that there is no scale of risk, every situation is different.  Even if you answer yes to one question, it’s time to sit down and have a serious talk about the who, what and where of your child’s interactions online. For more information on how to get the conversation started, visit My Father’s Famous Four.

Is my child at risk online?

1. Is your child spending large amounts of time online, especially at night?
2. Is your child secretive about what he or she is doing online?
3. Is your child friending strangers online (including friends of friends your child has not met in person)?
4. Is your child seeking attention by posting provocative material online?
5. Is your child seeking attention by posting problems at home or with peers online?
6. Has your child become withdrawn from the family?
7. Have you found pornographic or other alarming material on your son or daughter’s computer?

P.S. Readers, you may also want to think about the benefits of where the technology sleeps; is your son/daughter using their cell phone as an alarm clock?  It may be time to get them an old fashion clock that beeps in the morning.  Is the laptop in bed with them as they fall asleep?  Maybe it should get charged in the kitchen.  There is no reason to continue to promote the idea that our children should be “Constantly Connected.”  Making a few simple changes could significantly reduce their chance of being at risk. Kids who spend more time online have more opportunity to be exposed to inappropriate content, be part of a cyber-bullying incident, be approached by a predator or become addicted to the Internet.