Rethinking 'stranger danger': Part 2

Last week, I featured Janis Wolak - mother, sociologist, and research professor at the University of New Hampshire's Crimes Against Children Research Center. One of my takeaways from a phone interview with her is the suggestion that, before we start trying to explain anything in a one-way, us-to-them sort of arrangement, it might help first to understand how the online social scene works in our kids' lives. There's a lot to learn - their online/offline blend of a social life is unprecedented. Here's one approach Janis suggested: "When your child has some friends over, talk with them frankly about their Net activities in general, then get more specific and ask them how they form relationships on the Internet.... Do you know anybody at school who's met a friend online, then offline? How did they get together? "It's not so much that we need to be telling kids, 'don't have sex with 40-yr-old men'," she continued. "We need to be talking with kids about Internet relationships in general." Here's more on this in the SafeKids/NetFamilyNewsletter. Email me anytime about conversations you and your kids have had about this - your experiences would be great to share with other parents!