Harmless fun?  Hardly.  Because it often makes them easy targets by sexual predators.

Profiling A Child Predator

The average child predator is male and over the age of 25.  

He could be considered the guy down the street; the loner type, who has very few friends and typically not married.  

A child predator most often has limited social skills, but a propensity to engage in conversation with an adolescent or child. This individual tends to be shy with those his own age.  He tends to seek out jobs that allow him to work around children, such as a baseball or basketball coach, Boy Scout leader, janitor or teacher at the school.  

Child predators usually see nothing wrong with their behavior.  Child predators come from all walks of life: Some are rich, some are poor, some are educated and some are not.  They usually have a sexually abusive or violent background histories.  

Child predators will "target" numerous children at one time.  Their words are cunning and they take their time to "groom" their victims.  "Grooming" is done by showering their victims with gifts, signs of affection and anything else they can, in order to build trust and a relationship with potential victims.  Once trust is built, blackmail and guilt are sometimes used to get the child to succumb to their demands.  

Child internet predators will use any or all of these techniques online.  They will often mask their age and say they are around the same age as the children they target. They will stalk internet sites that most children and teens regularly visit. Hiding behind a computer screen, waiting patiently and then attacking their prey, our children.

Child Predators:  Is Your Child At Risk?  

There are signs parents should look out for to determine whether your child has been contacted by a predator.

1.  Your child may turn off the computer suddenly when you enter the room.  Your child may be receiving gifts from others that you do not know.  

2.  They may become more secretive about what they are doing online and usually spend more than an hour a day on the Internet.  

3.  You may see long distance phone numbers that you do not recognize or they may receive phone calls from people that you are not familiar with.  

As a parent, what can you do?  One of the best ways to keep your child safe online is to create open dialogue with your child and to set clear rules regarding computer and Internet usage.  

You will also need to understand what your child is doing online.  Learning more about how your child uses the Internet and whom they talk to in emails and instant message chat rooms can do this.   

You might also consider using internet monitoring tools to keep tabs on your child's activity. 

Wendy McLellan runs http://www.safecomputerkids.com, a web site that helps parents protect their children from sexual predators.  As a counselor and Program Director of an intensive outpatient program, Wendy has experienced first-hand the devastating effects abuse, violence, sexual abuse, addiction and predatory behavior have on adolescents and families.