Another concern that I have is the amount of time a teenager will spend on the net due to the many chat rooms available to them. I saw this first hand with my husband's two oldest children. One way that my husband and I dealt with it was to put in another phone line so that we could make and receive phone calls. But then there were the battles, of whose turn it was, and how long they had been on-line and then the fact that more time was being spent on-line then on their homework or chores.

I also noticed that none of them were playing sports or doing any activities that included being outdoors. I know that times have changed since I was a teenager or when my children were teenagers but no matter what year it is I am a strong believer that a good education, participating in school activities, socializing and working are all very important to helping a teen learn some strong social skills and principles. If it had been left up to me alone the only time my husband's children would have been able to use the computer would have been for schoolwork. Since it was not left up to me I had to wait for the inevitable. The oldest teen who is a boy managed to get all of us kicked off of an ISP 3 times due to swearing in a chat room for teens. When we were able to get back on-line his oldest daughter had us removed for the same type of behavior that her older brother displayed. Finally, my husband agreed that the Internet was off limits to all 3 of them. I cannot tell you how relieved I was. I had grown very tired of all of the arguing that had ensued form this wonderful technology.

I know that many families have both parents working and they do not want their children on the Internet. So they say "well how do I control the computer usage while I am not at home"? To this I suggest using a password so that only the adults in the family can access the Internet. If that does not work then take the cable from the computer to work with you. I know this sounds like a drastic thing to do but these are very drastic times in our world and in our teenager's lives. It is very frightening to know that our children can go online and learn how to make a bomb, join cults, and enter chat rooms where there are men and women just waiting for their next victim.

Obviously, the Internet is here to stay and for a responsible adult this can be a good tool to have. Our teens will be adults before we know it. It is our responsibility to keep them safe, happy and active.