What Are Your Kids Doing Online?

Monday, March 5th 2007, 6:44 am

By: News On 6

While your children probably know how to navigate the Internet, law enforcement officials want to shut down predators before they reach your kids. Six In The Morning reporter Carina Sonn reports authorities say parents trust their kids are safe as long as they're inside the home. But officials say your kids could be putting themselves in harms way, without ever leaving their bedroom.

The Tulsa Police Department Cyber Crimes Unit and Thoreau Demonstration Academy's Parent-Teacher-Student Association are sponsoring a free online forum Monday evening. The PTSA wants to arm parents with knowledge on how to protect their kids from online predators.

Thoreau Demonstration Academyâ€™s principal Tom Padalino says introducing just one child to pornography is too much. "42-percent of children age 10 to 17 have been assaulted with Internet pornography. Let's say half of that's true, the statistics are still unacceptable." The forum is at 7 p.m. at the Thoreau Demonstration Academy. The school is located on 71st street between Sheridan and Memorial. All parents are invited to attend.

The News On 6 spoke to several 6th graders who attend Thoreau and asked them about popular online communities like Myspace.com. None of them have joined either because they thought it wasn't safe, or their parents said no when they asked. Officials say that's a good thing.