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American Morning

Talk With Family Safety Expert Bob Stuber

Aired July 16, 2003 - 09:39   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Bob Stuber, meanwhile, standing by. He's an expert on family safety, live in Sacramento for advice for parents and kids.
Bob, we brought you on to talk about this matter back in Kentucky and West Virginia, but I know you have a lot of experience in this area.

Your advice to parents when you hear about stories like these coming out of Lee?

BOB STUBER, FAMILY SAFETY EXPERT: Well, this is something that is extremely significant. It's a big issue all over the world, especially in our country. And here's what parents need to realize, it's that, when your child's on the Internet, you know, it's almost like dropping them off in the middle of a big city, and if they don't have some rules and regulations and supervision, things like this can and probably will happen.

The guys that are out there surfing the Net that are targeting children are experts, absolute experts at what they do and even if the child tries to disguise themselves and make themselves seem older than they are, like they're playing a game, it can still turn out extremely dangerous. You have got to have some serious rules.

HEMMER: What are you finding in terms of advice when it comes to defining these rules?

STUBER: Well, one of the most important ones, and this is a big issue within the families, is kids want the computers in their room. They want to be able to have their own e-mail accounts, they want to, you know, just be by themselves and have their own community there. And for younger kids, especially when they're 16 years and younger, you've really got to think twice about that, because they take a lot of risks on the Internet, risks that you as a parent do not know that they're taking. And these risks can turn into reality. Like in this case, they're conversing with people that they think are their own ages, but they're not. You, as a parent, could spot them by some of the words they use, by some of the phrases they use, but kids can't do it. So you might want to think about having that computer and that e- mail account as a common thing in the house so that you can supervise your child when they're online.

HEMMER: Bob, what do you think about the learning curve? Technology is something that's still in many ways new to many of us in this country, but the learning curve for taking these rules, applying them, developing some sort of pattern at home by which the parents and the children can both get along hand communicate correctly on this?

STUBER: Yes, the learning curve is really the issue here. You know, pedophiles in general started going after the Internet, starting preying on children on the Internet long before most of us, the average person, even got an e-mail account. These guys are absolute experts. They're so far over the learning curve, so far ahead of us, that it's not even funny.

As a parent, if you're going to have a computer, and you're going to have one and you're going to use the Internet and your kids will use e-mail, you really need to understand that it's not -- just because it's easy to get online and just because it's easy to learn how to use e-mail, that doesn't mean you're ready for all the dangers and stuff that are out there. So realize that you need to take your time, and as a family, you need to sit down and discuss what these rules are, and until everybody's extremely proficient on this, you need to have supervision of that computer.

HEMMER: Bob, thanks. Bob Stuber, family safety expert in Sacramento. We brought you on to talk about other matters in the Target store back in West Virginia, but really appreciate it. We'll talk about that again quite soon, though. That story has not been solved just yet. Thanks, Bob. Have a good day.

STUBER: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired July 16, 2003 - 09:39   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Bob Stuber, meanwhile, standing by. He's an expert on family safety, live in Sacramento for advice for parents and kids.
Bob, we brought you on to talk about this matter back in Kentucky and West Virginia, but I know you have a lot of experience in this area.

Your advice to parents when you hear about stories like these coming out of Lee?

BOB STUBER, FAMILY SAFETY EXPERT: Well, this is something that is extremely significant. It's a big issue all over the world, especially in our country. And here's what parents need to realize, it's that, when your child's on the Internet, you know, it's almost like dropping them off in the middle of a big city, and if they don't have some rules and regulations and supervision, things like this can and probably will happen.

The guys that are out there surfing the Net that are targeting children are experts, absolute experts at what they do and even if the child tries to disguise themselves and make themselves seem older than they are, like they're playing a game, it can still turn out extremely dangerous. You have got to have some serious rules.

HEMMER: What are you finding in terms of advice when it comes to defining these rules?

STUBER: Well, one of the most important ones, and this is a big issue within the families, is kids want the computers in their room. They want to be able to have their own e-mail accounts, they want to, you know, just be by themselves and have their own community there. And for younger kids, especially when they're 16 years and younger, you've really got to think twice about that, because they take a lot of risks on the Internet, risks that you as a parent do not know that they're taking. And these risks can turn into reality. Like in this case, they're conversing with people that they think are their own ages, but they're not. You, as a parent, could spot them by some of the words they use, by some of the phrases they use, but kids can't do it. So you might want to think about having that computer and that e- mail account as a common thing in the house so that you can supervise your child when they're online.

HEMMER: Bob, what do you think about the learning curve? Technology is something that's still in many ways new to many of us in this country, but the learning curve for taking these rules, applying them, developing some sort of pattern at home by which the parents and the children can both get along hand communicate correctly on this?

STUBER: Yes, the learning curve is really the issue here. You know, pedophiles in general started going after the Internet, starting preying on children on the Internet long before most of us, the average person, even got an e-mail account. These guys are absolute experts. They're so far over the learning curve, so far ahead of us, that it's not even funny.

As a parent, if you're going to have a computer, and you're going to have one and you're going to use the Internet and your kids will use e-mail, you really need to understand that it's not -- just because it's easy to get online and just because it's easy to learn how to use e-mail, that doesn't mean you're ready for all the dangers and stuff that are out there. So realize that you need to take your time, and as a family, you need to sit down and discuss what these rules are, and until everybody's extremely proficient on this, you need to have supervision of that computer.

HEMMER: Bob, thanks. Bob Stuber, family safety expert in Sacramento. We brought you on to talk about other matters in the Target store back in West Virginia, but really appreciate it. We'll talk about that again quite soon, though. That story has not been solved just yet. Thanks, Bob. Have a good day.

STUBER: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com