What you need to know to keep your kids safe on the Internet

Internet safety is a huge concern, but not all parents have a real handle on what it is their kids are doing online. Millions of kids have their own web pages on sites like "My Space" and "Xanga" and

Friday, April 14th 2006, 10:09 am

By: News On 6

Internet safety is a huge concern, but not all parents have a real handle on what it is their kids are doing online. Millions of kids have their own web pages on sites like "My Space" and "Xanga" and too often, they are sharing private information with total strangers.

News on 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright found plenty of information about Green Country teens, with just the click of a mouse.

"Here's a posting for tonight. It says she's going to a movie at 7:30 at the Riverwalk Crossing, so we know where she's going, who she's going to be with, what she looks like and if we read further, we can find out everything she likes and hangs out with, it's a predator's paradise." Patti Wheaton is the mother of a teenage girl and has been getting an eye opening lesson about what kids put in their on the online journals, called Blogs.

She found a posting for her daughter's school, Jenks Middle and was appalled at all the private information kids were sharing. "I actually called a father last night and said I got your phone number off your child's web site. If I can put all that together, who else is?"

We found Blogs where local kids provided their full names, birthdates and where they live. Many talk about drinking, drugs and sex.

Teens often believe only their friends are reading, but police are seeing more more cases where strangers are reading it and using the information for evil. Kids may have a one site their parents monitor, but have others, that are secret. It's often hard to know since teens are more computer savvy than most grown-ups. "I'm not a computer expert, I'm just a mom and now, I know too much and it's frightening. Parents need to find out what their kids are doing online and talk to other parents about what's going on."

The web site for Missing and Exploited Children has great information about Internet safety.

Unfortunately, it also now, has the picture of a missing Oklahoma girl, who might've been kidnapped by a man she was talking to online.