What’s the lesser evil if you have a young child at home, a PlayStation or a computer?

Eric Ackerman, Nova Southeastern University professor, believes gifting the child a PlayStation would be a better idea than letting them use the computer at home. “There are people out there who want to prey on your children. PlayStation is good. Predators don’t get into them,” he said at a “safety night” organized by Riverside Elementary PTO last Friday.

Computers should be kept only in an open and common space at home, Ackerman said. “Don’t shelter your children from the fact that there are bad people in the world. Second or third grade is a good time to tell them a bit about the dangers out there. Educating children early about Internet safety is important.”

“There are many social networking sites on the Internet," Ackerman said. "Children from 8 to 16 dominate such sites as they like to make friends online. Create an account and see how it works. Talk to your children about the information they can share with others online. Using parental control software is a good idea, but don’t rely on that alone.”

Sixty five percent of the content on the Internet is sex, Ackerman said. “That is what makes money. Sex offenders on the Internet, on average, are white males in the 25 to 55 age group. They belong to the middle to upper class and are often professional employees. Many are involved in children’s activities,” he said.

Riverside Elementary is implementing many programs to combat bullying, school assistant principal Sherry Rosen said. “We don’t have a problem with bullying but we teach children how to be nice towards each other and how to stand up for themselves. It’s all about having respect for each other.”

Grace Stambaugh, PTO secretary, said the event was organized to empower parents. “We wanted to give them as much information as we can to keep their kids safe. This year, we have focused our efforts on parental participation in our activities.”