Parents are always asking "How do we protect our kids from MySpace."

Well, it's simple.

You can't.

Teens are naturally rebllious. They will find a way around parents restrictions and get online even if it's not available at home.

The best you can do is teach your kids responsibility while online. Parents complain of their daughters getting kidnapped or in trouble with a predator. Well guess what, it's the kids fault. Has anyone seen some of the profiles 12-year-old girls are posting? ? No wonder men are messaging them and luring them into meeting them. These girls open the door for that kind of thing themselves. Now that I mention it, it is also the parents fault for not making sure these kids have common sense.
PARENTS: STOP PLACING THE BLAME ON THE SHOULDERS OF MYSPACE!
You are ruining the site for responsible teens like myself and other responsible teens. MySpace has not only helped me reach out to new people from my classes that I don't know very well and want to get to know, but it has helped me get in touch with old friends from grade school. But when you and your daughters don't take responsibilty for what you are responsible for, it gives MySpace a bad name.

I read earlier a post by a mom from Idaho about how she created a MySpace of her own and actually monitors what her kids do on it. I personally think she's setting herself up for disaster. This tells the kids that she doesn't trust them. Don't throw around the old "It's not the kids we dont trust, it's the people" line because now that doesn't work. If you trusted your kids you would be able to let them have a MySpace without having to look at it everyday. You need to trust your kids to make the right choices on the site. I'm not saying that checking out your kids profile is a bad thing to do at all, it isn't: Checking it every once in a while is being a responsible parent. But when you do it everyday and create your own page to help you do it, you're crossing the line. These kids are going to rebel.

Many parents may not know this, but MySpace offers many ways to secure privacy and safety while on the site. You are able to set your profile to 'private' which only allows members on your friends list to view your profile. You do not have to put up pictures, or release any personal imformation. You can also block members from contacting you. THIS IS WHERE RESPONSIBILTY ON THE CHILDS PART COMES IN. If someone the child doesnt know sends them a message, and if the child has common sense, they wont respond. I myself have had a man many years my senior send me an innapropriate message, but was I irresponsible and talked to him? No, I blocked him so he will never be able to contact me again. You are also not required to put your real name down. (Names are used to search for members) you can make it immpossible for people to find you. See how easy it is for your children to be safe? Sure, MySpace isn't going to wrap you in a security blanket and make sure no one harms you. You have to be responsible for what you do. If you get into a dangerous situation with, say, a predator, it's your own fault for letting that person contact you so you should be responsible.

Final word? TEACH YOUR CHILDREN ONLINE RESPONSIBILTY AND STOP COMPLAINING!