Online communication is an important aspect of the Internet. Online communication can be established on the web by various tools, all falling under the generic name - social software.

Social software covers a range of software and technologies used by Internet users to interact with each other. It covers different means of online communication techniques such as text messaging, voice communication and video in diverse Internet environments.

Social software includes: email, IM (=Instant Message), P2P (=Peer-to-Peer networks), newsgroups, chatrooms, forums, blogs, social network services, virtual worlds etc. When you use online communication you have the ability to choose how you want to present yourself in a specific situation.

Online communication allows you to be open about who you are, be anonymous or make up a new persona. This aspect has a major affect on the authenticity of online relationships. Anonymous online communication holds serious risk factors for children. They can easily become victims of abuse by individuals communicating with them due to lack of mature judgment skills. Sometimes they are not able to interpret the nature of the relationship correctly and can be misled, bullied, abused or fall victim to scams and ploys.

Child predators take advantage of the anonymity in online communication and target unsuspecting children usually for sexual or other abusive purposes.

In order for parents to protect their children from such predators, they should become involved in their children's web activities and learn how to recognize a problematic online relationship.

How Do Child Predators Work?

Child predators use the anonymous nature of online communication in order to contact children and gradually seduce them into an online relationship. This relationship might end in sexual abuse.

They use various forms of online communication, such as, IM, chatrooms, forums, newsgroups, and virtual worlds to target potential victims.

Child predators invest a lot of effort in targeting and seducing children into a relationship. They often pose as children.

They are knowledgeable in children's popular hobbies and interests. They seduce children by giving them attention, affection, understanding, kindness and sometimes gifts. They try to target vulnerable kids who crave for attention and affection.

Who Is Vulnerable?

All children that use the Internet are at risk. It is more likely that children will be exposed to unsuitable material than encounter an online predator, but the outcome of such encounters is so severe that parents can not be indifferent to this issue.

Although all children are at risk, young adolescents are the most vulnerable age group due to the specific characteristics of this age group.

Children in this age group usually have good technological and language abilities that allow them to surf freely without adult help. They are frequent users of social software such as, IM (=Instant Message) , P2P (=Peer-to-Peer networks), social network services and newsgroups.

On the other hand, they lack the maturity and experience to help them understand the content that they encounter when surfing. They can easily misinterpret an online relationship, especially one which engages an adult with ulterior motives.




They want to be free of their parents’ control and to gain respect as grown-ups.

They explore their sexuality and have the desire to socialize.

They are in the rebellious phase of their lives and try to establish relationships outside the family.

Child predators are well aware of these facts and exploit them.

Victims of child predators might be:
Seeking attention and affection.
New on the Internet scene and unaware of web ethics.
Lacking in social skills in the real world.
Unpopular in their social circle.
Rebellious.
Confused regarding their sexual identity.
Naïve and unsophisticated in comparison to their age group.

What Can Parents Do to Protect Their Children?
Show an interest in your children's Internet activities. Nothing can be as effective as good communication when discussing means to protect them in the cyber world. Don't be judgmental. Try to understand their experiences and understand their frustration expressed against your efforts to manage their Internet use.
Be a role model. Direct your children to appropriate websites that could be of interest to them. Teach your children web ethics and explain to them about the threats exist on the Internet.
Become Internet savvy. If you have knowledge about services and applications that are available on the Internet, you will be more effective when guiding your children.
Supervise your children when they use the Internet. If you have young children, make sure that the PC they are using is in a family space.
Define clear guidelines for your children for Internet use. You can define an Internet use policy. Place the use policy near the PC that they use to keep the rules visible at all times.
Much in the same way you educate your children not to talk to strangers in the real world, educate them not to communicate with strangers online. Instruct your children not to answer IM or emails from people they don't know.
Young children should not use social software such as: chatrooms, IM, newsgroups, forums and so on. The risks far outweigh the benefits. As for young adolescents and adolescents, make sure that they only use monitored children's chatrooms, newsgroups or forums. Instruct your children never to leave the public chatroom area. (Chatrooms usually offer the option of a private chat were the conversation is not monitored and can not be seen by others).
Don't allow your children to meet with Internet friends in person without your approval and supervision.
Don't allow your children to use a private email account. Let them use the family account or an alias you have created for them in order for you to monitor the incoming and outgoing emails.
Help your children to create a safe username or nickname in the social software tools that they use. A safe username/nickname should not reveal personal information, gender or age.
If your children use the Internet in unsupervised places such as, libraries, school or friends' houses, check the security measures that are enforced at these places.
Instruct your children never to give away personal information online without your approval.
Instruct your children not to upload personal photos to the web without your approval.
Instruct your children not to accept photos or files from strangers without your approval.
Encourage your children to let you know if they encounter any strange behavior or behavior that caused them an uncomfortable feeling. Instruct them on what to do if they encounter such behavior. For example, turning off the PC and notifying a parent.

How Can You Recognize If Your Child Was Targeted By an Online Predator?

Your child may:
Withdraw from family and friends.
Seem depressed and moody.
Be aggressive towards members of the family. Child predators try to emphasize problems that the child has at home which can cause an aggressive behavior.
Spend a lot of time online, especially in chatrooms.
Have pornography on the computer. Child predators often send pornography to children.
Try to hide his/her Internet activities from you. For example, Opens a private email account, hides the computer screen or shuts down the PC when adult approaches.
Spend a lot of time on the Internet at friends' houses in order to avoid your supervision.
Receive presents from people you don't know.
Receive emails from people you don't know.
Receive phone calls from people you don't know. Child predators sometimes try to seduce children to engage in phone sex.

If you have suspicions, don't hesitate to confront your child about it. Emphasize again the guidelines for safe web surfing to your child. You can also monitor your child Internet activities by using Internet Parental Control software. If you choose to do so without the child's knowledge, be aware that it can result in a loss of trust between you and your child.

If all the safety measures you have tried don't work and you find out that your child is a victim of a child predator or in initial contact with one, the most important thing is not to blame the child. Always remember that the blame is on the offender.

Immediately contact –
Your local law-enforcement agency.
CyberTipline 1-800-843-5678 – This tipline is managed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which has representatives from the FBI, the U.S. Customs Service (USCS), and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at its headquarters. You can report incidents of child sexual exploitation, including child pornography, online enticement of children for sexual acts, child prostitution, child-sex tourism, and child sexual molestation.

A decade has passed of this event so powerful that every detail becomes permanently etched into the minds of the people who experienced it, and every generation to come will be told the story. One such moment began on the quiet morning of September 11, 2001.

People across the United States woke up that morning and heard the terrifying news about commercial airliners being hijacked. Four planes were taken over by Al-Qaeda terrorists: American Airlines Flight 11, United Airlines Flight 175, American Airlines Flight 77 and United Airlines Flight 93. Although no one knew the hijackers’ demands, it wouldn’t be long until the devastating truth behind their mission was revealed.

At 8:48am, American Airlines Flight 11 was flown directly into the north tower of the World Trade Center. Less than twenty minutes later, United Airlines Flight 175 struck the south tower. The ferocity of the impacts produced tremendous explosions and weakened the buildings so thoroughly that they both collapsed less than two hours after being hit.

By 9:43am the terrorists had struck again, and this time their target was the Pentagon. American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the building and demolished one of its five sides. The world watched on, terrified at what had happened and what may yet be to come. The White House was evacuated, all flights were cancelled and people across the world stopped whatever they were doing to witness these events unfold.

A final plane remained under the terrorist’s control - United Airlines Flight 93. No one was sure what their target was, but there was much speculation that the plane was either being taken towards the White House or Camp David. The passengers of this flight heard about the fate of the other planes, and all of the innocent people who were killed in that morning’s tragedies. They decided to take a stand.





Some of the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 called loved ones and told them that their plane had been hijacked. They said tearful goodbyes and told family members that they loved them. When the time came, the brave victims fought back. They attacked the terrorists who held them captive, and struggled for control of the plane.

Flight 93 crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. There were no survivors, but the bold actions of the passengers helped prevent further destruction and loss of life. They will forever be mourned and honored as heroes.

Immediately, people who were near the attack sites sprang into action. Firefighters rushed into buildings to put out the flames and bring people safely outside. Rescue workers sorted through debris for days in the hopes of finding survivors. People all over the nation stood in line for hours to donate blood for the victims who were injured that morning. In the wake of the worst attack on American soil, the country banded together to help each other and grieve over our losses.

On December 18th, 2001, an amendment was made to the United States Code to memorialize September 11 as Patriot Day. The proclamation called for all local governments to recognize the day, flags to be flown at half-staff and the people of America to observe a moment of silence for the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives that morning.

September 11th is a day that will never be forgotten. We will remember it for the tragedies we witnessed, the devastating loss of innocent lives and the way it united an entire country. People everywhere felt a renewed sense of pride and patriotism for their homeland, and they were reminded about the importance of friends and family who so deeply enrich our lives.

At PeopleFinders we are dedicated to helping people find each other and stay connected through both good times and bad. On Patriot Day we share in the moment of silence for those who died or lost loved ones on September 11, 2001, and we honor the spirit of the people who came together after the attack to become even stronger. We will protect our land more diligently, we will guard over each other more cautiously and we will always remember.


At Prosperous Children we dedicated on Patriot Day a moment of silence for those who died or lost loved ones on September 11, 2001, and we honor the spirit of the people who came together after the attack to become even stronger.

Some people think kids martial arts is tantamount to teaching kids aggressive things. This is not so, kids martial arts is a sport and as such teaches discipline as well in this ever-changing world, self defense. Some of the possible benefits of kids martial arts would be control of aggressiveness, instilling self-respect and self-control.

It is said that the reason that we have such nasty things happening, school shootings, rages and gang fights is because we no longer have things like national service where young men and women have to serve a time with our defence forces. It is also evident that kids and teenagers who do not participate in any type of sport also tend to lack self discipline and control hence get involved, unfettered drinking and drugs and violence. This is why I believe kids martial arts is just one of those sports that gears the child to positive discipline.




When deciding to have your child involved in kids martial arts it is important that you pick an appropriate kids martial arts academy that follows the strict meaning of the art. The major issue with children in the kids martial arts is the integrity and trustworthiness of the teacher and the school.

Remember that your child is still developing physically. The joints and connective tissues of children are more vulnerable to injury than those of adults. Keep this in mind when selecting a style and school for a child and discuss it with the instructor. Kids martial arts schools which allow aggressive joint locks to be applied to children or don’t train them to refrain from snapping/hyper-extending elbows on strikes and knees or kicks should be avoided.

There is no set age for a child to begin kids martial arts training. You as a parent are best suited to judge whether their child is ready to begin some form of kids martial arts training. Your child must be able to follow instructions and mimic actions that are shown to them. Generally the best age for a child to start kids martial arts training is between the ages of 5 to 10 years. This age range is because it is usually accepted that if a child is able to work in a school environment then they should be able to begin learning kids martial arts and the discipline that it entails.