For years I have been aware of COPPA and have seen a lot of websites change their policy so that only children under the age of 14 cannot register to use a site.

When I became a mother, I decides when my son was old enough to become curious about using the Internet, I would be there to guide him. It was when he was 5 years old, that he became interested in Webkins and games. Since then, I have made it my business to be there to see his Internet usage.

However, he is lucky I care. Recently, I talked to a gal on Facebook who said she was 12 and her mother was not even at the computer monitoring her activity. For me, I was going to brush it off as an online cop in disguise, but after some of her messages, I did believe she was 12.

I have been witness to listening on accident on teens going online and viewing things that they should have not. Regardless, even if Yahoo: Child Safety a Company Priority, children are still going online, even on Yahoo! It is easy to sign up and forge information.

What can I do? Probably nothing except post this blog. I hope parents are taking a more active role on their children’s Internet usage. My younger sister (middle one – I have 2 younger sisters) as a teen use to sneak online and conduct cybersex chat over Yahoo! Considering my father’s schedule with the military, I ended up dishing out the punishment by banning her from chat rooms and at that time, Cheetah Chat. (this was in the late 90s.)

Are you monitoring your children? Are you speaking to younger mothers on how important it is to watch their children even online?