Protecting Your Children Online

July 3, 2017
The internet has brought many benefits, but it has also created new dangers for children, as carefully outlined here by McCabe (Sex Trafficking: A Global Perspective). A professor of criminology at Lynchburg College, McCabe explains how online offenses against children differ from other abuse cases, in that the majority of perpetrators come from outside the family. Using research, statistics, and case studies, she covers various types of cybercrimes, including solicitation, extortion, and bullying, and defines relevant terminology, such as cyberstalking and trolling. She observes that parents and other caregivers are often unsure or even unaware of the internet’s dangers. McCabe’s book provides parents helpful tips for striking up and maintaining a dialogue with their kids through the various stages of childhood. To help guide parents, she discusses behavioral and physical indicators of abuse, how best to protect children, and how to address victimization, including a lengthy appendix devoted to resources for reporting offenses. This book will serve as an instructive tool for parents and communities to better understand and combat online threats to children.