Rachel Schneider is like other kids. The Alexandria, Ky., teen enjoys Internet chat rooms, where she can “get the scoop on everything.”

        But she visits them cautiously, sticking to chat rooms solely targeted for her age and remaining skittish with anyone requesting personal information.

        The 14-year-old has heard of too many adults who posed as children to gain another child's trust before plotting to meet, kidnap or assault the child.

Eighth-graders Rachael Schneider and Elizabeth King talk with social studies teacher Jackie Wright as they use the Internet at Campbell County Middle School. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

        Children who attempt these electronic relationships “are risking their lives,” said Rachel, an eighth-grader at Campbell County Middle School.

        The message to Rachel and her classmates at a recent safety seminar was simple: Don't let children share names, addresses, phone numbers and parental data over the Internet.

        “When kids divulge this information, they are literally dancing with death. You cannot tell whether you're talking to a kid or a kidnapper,” said Lisa Kimball, who led the presentation for Child Connections in Louisville.

        Schools use filters to help students steer clear of trouble, but educators in Greater Cincinnati say the bigger danger is outside of the classroom — on home computers.

INTERNET SAFETY

• Place computer in a room used by the whole family.     • Look at the screen while your child is on the computer.     • Install software filters to screen questionable material.     • Talk with your child. Tell them why they shouldn't give out personal information or visit questionable Web sites.     • Set rules and time limits for Internet use.     • Get to know their online friends just as you would their “in-person” friends.     • Find out more about their favorite sites.     • Check history function to see what sites have been visited.     • Check files and diskettes.     Source: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

        The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, Va., surveyed 1,501 youngsters age 10 to 17 and found:

        • One in five Internet users received a sexual solicitation or approach over the Internet in that year.

        • One in 33 received aggressive sexual solicitation, including trying to arrange a meeting, gifts of meals or money, and phone calls.

        • One in four had an unwanted exposure to sexually explicit material.

        The Internet “is a great tool for education (and) research. It also has a dark side, and unfortunately there are people out there who exploit that,” said Ruben Rodriguez, director of the center's exploited-child unit.

        “Schools should be on the forefront of educating children to ... the right and wrong of things,” he said. But, “we cannot expect the schools to be surrogate parents. This type of education should start in the homes, and it should be echoed in the schools.”

        Dangers to children have struck close to home recently:

        Earlier this month, Johnathan Barber, a former Princeton Junior High School teacher, was sentenced to six months in jail for sending sexually explicit material to students during online tutoring sessions.

        • On Feb. 18, a Kentucky man was arrested in Xenia. Police said he thought he was going to meet a young girl in the parking lot of a motel.

        • In December, a New Philadelphia, Ohio, man was arrested after police said he arranged a rendezvous with a supposed 15-year-old boy in the parking lot of a Camp Washington restaurant.

        • In November, a Columbus grade-school teacher was arrested in Cincinnati on charges of trying to lure a teen-age girl into sex.

        At Western Hills High School, choir director Alan Coleman allows students to do assignments on a classroom computer. Software blocks chat rooms.

        But once outside the classroom, there are fewer boundaries. An inquisitive parent once asked Mr. Coleman how to determine what music his son was downloading from the Web.

        While checking out the computer's desktop, the parent discovered an icon for an X-rated Web site.

        Mr. Coleman advises parents to snoop around the computer's pull-down menus to determine which Web sites are being frequented. He also tells parents to put the computer in an open area.

        “I really think the idea of "go to your room' is a bad idea, because that's where they can really get into trouble,” Mr. Coleman said. “Be aware of where your kids are and what they're doing.”

        Our Lady of the Rosary School in Greenhills opened a computer lab about a year ago with lots of filters to shield students from questionable material.

        Technology coordinator Nick Franzese makes a point to advise students how to safely use the Internet outside the classroom.

        “We'd be remiss ... if we didn't.”
       

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