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Keeping kids safe online is one of the biggest issues facing parents and law enforcement these days. Nearly every household now has access to the internet and computers are virtually required for kids in school, so it's nearly impossible to monitor all of their activity in person.

Using software to remotely monitor your child's online activity may be a difficult decision to make: You don't want your kids to think you don't trust them and you also don't want to be thought of as "big brother", but the only other alternatives are to be with them while they are online or to provide no oversight at all.

Due to the above, the National Crime Prevention Council has started a new no-cost electronic montioring service called McGruff SafeGuard. This program has been featured on Oprah and it allows parents to receive email alerts outlining their kid's online activity. These alerts include Facebook, MySpace, and other social network activity; chat room logs; email logs; and more. All you have to do is setup a free account and download an application to your kid's computer.

According to their website, "Tests in tens of thousands of homes have resulted in the detection and prevention of hundreds of cases of sexual activity, internet predators, teen drug abuse, crime and suicide."

The website also includes testimonials from parents who have used this service to keep their kids out of other potentially bad situations.

Again, monitoring your children is a difficult decision that no one can make for you but it is recommended for their safety. If you do decide to take this route, having a discussion with your child pointing out why you are doing it will help to alleviate their concerns. Pointing out that you trust them and that you are doing this because you don't trust others that they might meet online may also help them understand. You can use resources such as MyCrimeSpace (http://crimene.ws/mycrimespace/) to find examples of issues that you can discuss with them.

For more information on Safe Guard, visit http://www.gomcgruff.com