Most kids will not report inappropriate Internet contact or content to their parents because they are afraid of losing their Internet privileges. What’s shocking about this? Well, one out of five kids aged 10-17 have been solicited sexually online.  This is just one of the many issues parents and guardians face in protecting their kids online.  So what can be done and who can help tackle it?

Just this month, the Toronto Association of Parents in Catholic Education (TAPCE) has taken giant steps toward finding a solution to issues like these.  In their most recent endeavour, TAPCE is teaming up with Kiwi Seminars, a non-profit Internet safety presenter (www.KiwiSeminars.com), to host an evening aimed at providing parents and educators an overview of what kids do online, the people they may encounter and safety strategies.

On Thursday, June 11, 2009 at 7 pm to 9 pm in the Catholic Education Center, TAPCE is offering parents, principals, and others in the 200 Toronto Catholic District School Board a free session on youth Internet safety.
At the seminar, TAPCE and Kiwi Seminars plan to tackle questions like the following: How do I talk to my kids about Internet safety?  What should I do when a problem occurs?  Where can I go to download web safety resources? And what’s the best way to encourage web safety?

“It’s important for both parents and teachers to understand how to approach web safety in the right way.  We can’t just turn off the Internet or take the computer away, we need to be able to talk to our kids about the problems that they will certainly face on the Internet,” said Patti Vincent, Kiwi Seminars Advisor.

Thanks to associations like TAPCE and Kiwi Seminars, parents and guardians have a chance to look differently at what seems to be a mystical world and are given the knowledge to start opening up the lines of communication between them and their children.

About TAPCE

TAPCE (www.TAPCE.ca) has become the voice of local parents and guardians of children in the publicly-funded Catholic system of education. TAPCE’s focus has covered all aspects of a child’s growth through education, including spiritual, academic, health and even Internet safety, a touchy subject many education-based associations have yet to take on.

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