I agree with you momto3. I think that the best thing that anyone can do is to educate their children about the dangers that are out there. I have seen far too many kids that were sheltered their whole lives end up in much more trouble then those that know what is going on.

As far as how I will have things set up when my daughter is older, she will be in plain view when on the computer, I plan on putting it in the family room so that we can monitor what is going on, as well as using parental controls.

You can educate them and show them what can happen, but that won;t stop the predators. You can also trust them. But it's not them you have to worry about trusting. The wierdos will always find ways to get to the children. I think if you are comfortable with letting your children go online freely, that is up to you, but I will always monitor them while they are online. It's not a matter of trust, it's a matter of safety.

I monitor my kids, I am more computer savvy then most so I can trace history, emails etc. But if you hover over your kids, they are going to get into more trouble because then they will hide everything they do and not be open with you.

You always have to think, what is something happens to me, who is going to teach my kids how to protect themselves? You have to set the rules, teach them values and guidelines etc in the event something happens and you are not there 24/7 to monitor them.

Are you going to with your kids when they are their friends house to see what they are doing on their computer?
Are you positive all their friends parents monitor them?

You have to teach your kids and let them know you won't be there all the time but you expect them to follow your rules and guidelines all the time, in doing this you have to teach them how to be free with a leash so to speak.

You have to monitor your kids now, if you don’t they have free rein and god only knows what will get to them online. They have to be aware that they should never chat with someone they don’t know. You should also ensure that your parental controls cannot be disabled.