TX Auto Insurance Coverage Requirements by Law

• Bodily Injury Liability (one person): $25,000 Limit
• Bodily Injury Liability (all persons involved):$50,000 Limit
• Property Damage Liability: $25,000 Limit

*As of April 1, 2008,these increased requirements passed into effect

The state of Texas follows a Tort system meaning someone has to be found to be held accountable for causing the automobile accident, and that person and their insurance agency is financially accountable for all the damages. You should be mindful that the particulars of a tort system differ from state to state.

Texas drivers can get complementary optional coverage such as uninsured/underinsured auto insurance or No-Fault insurance coverage. Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage is nonobligatory insurance coverage that covers you against motorists who do not have an auto insurance policy. If you’re involved in an auto accident with them, you can help pay for expenses with your own insurance company. No fault insurance covers you regardless of who’s at fault for causing the auto accident.Texas state does not postulate these additional auto insurance coverage options by law, but many citizens do prefer to add them to their Texas insurance policy.

Texans are paying a bit more on auto insurance premiums than the average most others are paying The state average for auto insurance coverage was a little below $1000 while during the same year, the average national rate was $914. The government does not entirely control insurance policies even though plenty of Texans are under the premiss that there is one set price. This merely is not correct – there are plenty of ways that you can get cheaper quotes on your auto insurance. Your Texas auto insurance quotes can be reduced in different ways. Two different ways are by keeping a safe and sound driving history or by finishing a defensive driving session.

Employing cyberspace can help you find out if you’re paying too much for your auto insurance policy.These internet sites will allow you to get price reductions on your auto insurance coverage by comparison shopping in real time. They can also provide you helpful articles on various methods to increase your discounts.

After not having a decrease since 1999, insurance insurance costs eventually decreased in 2007. Many people saw a lessening from their 2006 insurance expenses by .5% to 1%. 2008 followed in the first half, but then insurance costs began to follow their normal cycle and go up slightly. This has been forcing people to shop reliable sites to find better insurance costs. Websites like these have facilitated the change by bringing competition straight to the driver and by lowering your rates through technology!

As your driving record gets better or your personal situation changes, you may not be getting all the discount rates you qualify for and will end up paying more for insurance. Recently, premiums rose almost 6% in one year! You won’t see your insurance agency always telling you about premium deductions and overall, auto insurance premiums increase over time. To compare rates, use the power of the internet and visit sites that will help you find the lowest insurance rates in Texas.

The purpose of this article is not to scare you but to enlighten you, although it may do both. These days the consumption of carbonated beverages (such as soft drinks), especially among our youth, is quite disconcerting when you consider that these beverages are toxic to the human body. The following is a list of some of these toxic compounds: sugar, carbonation, aspartame, food dyes and phosphoric acid.

SUGAR
In 1900, the average consumption of sugar was approximately lb/person/year. Currently, we roughly consume an appalling 180 lbs/person/year! The results on the body speak for themselves. Furthermore, the average soft drink has 10 tsp of sugar per can. No wonder pop is so addictive for so many people.

CARBONATION
Carbonation is created by pumping carbon dioxide into water or other liquid. You may recall that carbon dioxide is a waste product of cellular and food metabolism, as such the body wants to expel it. So why would anyone want to further add a waste product to their body? Carbonated beverages also burden the body by weakening stomach acid, thereby interfering with proper digestion.

ASPARTAME
“Aha! But I only drink diet sodas!” you say. Unfortunately, eventhough diet sodas have less sugar than regular soda they contain another concern – aspartame. Aspartame is a low calorie artificial sweetener that has the effect of lowering your body’s metabolism. As a result, a 400 calorie meal now becomes an 800 calorie meal! Aspartame has also been linked to convulsions, depression, insomnia, irritability, weakness, dizziness, migraines, and mood changes.

FOOD DYES
Many carbonated beverages contain food dyes that are unfit for human consumption. Many of these artificial colourings have been connected to ailments such Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and, according to Dr. Walker’s book Water Can Undermine Your Health, more than a million children today are afflicted with cerebral lesions caused by soft drinks!

PHOSPHORIC ACID
This is the substance that causes the soft drink to bubble and fizz. Being an acid, phosphoric acid burns your insides but more importantly upsets your body’s delicate phosphorus-calcium balance. You may recall that calcium can be released from the bones to restore proper pH balance in the blood. As a result, the presence of phosphoric acid can lead to the weakening of the skeletal structure and hence osteoporosis. In 1994, The Journal of Adolescent Health, reported a “strong association between cola beverage consumption and bone fractures in girls.” Numerous studies have confirmed this result.

So the next time you reach for the soft drink or sparkling water, I urge you to think twice. Think about what this fizzy acidic liquid will be doing to your internal environment. If you have the choice go with purified water that will replenish and revitalize your body!

Yuri Elkaim is the owner and founder of Total Wellness Consulting, a leading health, fitness, and wellness company offering health-conscious individuals innovative programs and technologies to help reach their goals of physical and mental well being. He is a highly acclaimed personal trainer, certified kinesiologist, and former professional soccer player.

Through properly prescribed functional exercise and nutrition programs, as well as attention to the inner person, Yuri has helped thousands of individuals reach their health and fitness goals.

He can be reached at
yuri@totalwellnessconsulting.ca
http://www.totalwellnessconsulting.ca

How many feet do you have? Or I should say, how many feet does your sewing machine have?

Once upon a time there was a sewing machine with one foot, one foot for sewing a straight stitch.

Now there are sewing machines with many feet and they all do a different job for you. They certainly make life at the sewing machine more enjoyable and easier. Some of these feet come with your machine and your manual will have the information for you on what application they are used for.

By taking the time to try these attachments for your sewing machine, you will find a whole new creative side to yourself, and you thought your machine was for sewing.

I’d like to take you through some of these sewing feet and what they can do. Your machine comes with the straight stitch foot and a zig-zag foot, these tow are normally standard. Some machines come with other feet as standard to that make or model and then there are the extra feet you can purchase to do those wonderful sewing jobs for you. I’d like to take you through these feet. These are the names as I know them, some of these may have different names with different manufacturers but the stitches they will be the same.

Braid Foot

The narrow and wide braid feet both have a hook on the front of the foot slip and a narrow tunneled groove underneath. It is used when you want to add cording or braid. The cord is laced through the hook and under the foot slip into the tunneled groove. There is a braid-guide attachment you can attach near the presser foot shank to keep the braid or cord taut while stitching, no tangles.

Buttonhole Foot

The buttonhole foot can be recognized by it’s rectangle shaped foot with thin extensions at either end, a raised square on top of the foot and small grooves on the bottom of the foot. It is similar to some embroidery feet. It makes sewing buttonholes very easy.

Eyelet Foot

I don’t know how many of you would want to be sewing eyelets but if that is what you want to do then this is the foot for you. It is a very specialized foot. It is a H-shaped flat foot, has a small cylinder shape attachment to the top surface.

Gathering Foot

This one is very handy. It is a small L-shaped foot with a slot on the bottom side. The bottom of the foot is higher at the front than the back. This causes the foot to rock when attached to the machine. This rocking creates the gathers. You set the stitch length at a higher setting to get more gathers and a normal setting to get less gathers. If you are gathering a single piece of fabric, feed the fabric under the foot or use the side slot to stitch one piece of fabric to another.

Narrow Bias Binder Foot

This foot has a coned shaped, slotted cylinder on the topside of the foot. It folds and applies the bias binding in one step.

Open-Toe Embroidery Foot

This foot will give you a view of your work so you can see the satin or decorative stitches between the widely spaced toes. There are grooves underneath to allow room for the stitches.

Pintuck Foot

This is a flat foot with grooves cut in underneath. This foot, used with a double needle will pinch and stitch lines of straight stitching in narrow raised patterns. The number of grooves will determine the spacing between the lines and the number of pattern lines. The three groove pintuck foot is used on heavier fabric or for wider designs and the for and five groove pintuck foot will be better on lightweight fabric or for narrower patterns.

Rolled Hemming Foot

If you want small double folded hems then this is the foot for you. Use it for medium to lightweight fabric. The groove on the bottom of the foot is the width of the finished hem. You will be able to sew hems with a straight stitch, zig-zag or decorative stitch. This has so many uses, think of lingerie, ruffles, curtains, scarves, table linen, wonderful.

Roller Foot

This is a very handy foot, the metal roller feeds the fabric and keeps it from stretching and bunching, great for thick, heavier fabric and fabric with a nap. Often called an even feed foot.

Ruffler Foot

This is a large foot with many components and you use it to evenly space ruffles and pleats. If you want to ruffle bigger jobs like curtains, skirts, home decor items then this foot will help enormously.

Teflon Foot

This foot is coated in teflon and we all know teflon is non-stick so this foot will stop those difficult fabrics like leather, suede or textured fabric. It allows the fabric to glide under rather than being fed. You can get it as a zig-zg or a straight stitch foot.

Walking Foot

This foot has teeth rather than a roller to feed the fabric evenly.

Welding Foot

This has two narrow claw like prongs instead of a small hole in the middle and is used for straight stitching close to the edge of a hem or seam

Zipper Foot

This is one of the best feet ever made for sewing machines, it looks like a straight stitch foot cut in half and then the outside edges joined in the center.

well, that is the more common types of the sewing machine feet available.

Most of these would be available for most machines on the market today. If you intend to do special sewing jobs then investing in the foot for that particular job could save you so much time.

© CTBaird 2006 SewMoreForU

CT Baird, Author of Sew More For U, a DIY Sewing eGuide. Get great sewing tips and techniques,http://www.sewmoreforu.com/patterns.html
http://www.sewmoreforu.com/sewingbook.html

When people find out that I’m a music therapist, the comments I hear most often are “I wish I could sing!” or “Oh, I love to sing, but I’m not good enough to do it in front of anyone”. Some of these people tell me that, as children, a parent, teacher or someone else told them that they should just mouth the words because they didn’t have a good enough voice.

Singing is our birthright! Singing is a natural and pure expression of how glad we feel to be alive, and the way we show our love of music. Here are my top five reasons to sing:

1. To connect with your body: We sing with our whole bodies. Because singing is so connected to closely with breath, singing helps us “be in our bodies” and let go of the thinking (or worrying) we do much of the day. Singing can be a joyful activity and can release endorphins (those feel-good chemicals that the body creates).

2. To connect with yourself: Meditative toning, singing along to a favourite song or simply humming to yourself are all ways to tap into your inner landscape and see what’s going on in there.

3. To connect with others: Singing with other people – in meditation, prayer, at a sing-along, at a concert, gathered round the piano or at the bedside – helps us experience in a very deep way that we are all truly connected.

4. To express your feelings: Many times a singer, songwriter or composer has expressed our feelings in a way we could never have – if there’s a song that expresses what you want or need to say, try singing along (keep in mind that this is just for you and it’s not about “sounding good”).

5. To boost your good feelings: Whatever you focus on, you’ll invite more of into your life. You can choose uplifting, joyful and celebratory songs to sing.

So sing out! Be proud of your own unique voice. Experiment with what works for you – keep a journal of what you notice in your mind and body when you sing specific songs. Then you can choose the right song for the right moment and make use of the power of singing in your own life.

(c) Copyright 2005, Genuine Coaching Services.

Linda Dessau, the Self-Care Coach, helps artists enhance their creativity by addressing their unique self-care issues. To receive one of her free monthly newsletters, subscribe at http://www.genuinecoaching.com/newsletter.html

George Foreman’s grills have actually been around for many years, and the product line just keeps expanding. The most recent addition to the George Foreman grill family is the NEW George Foreman Electric Grill, model G5, GRP90WGR. It is an excellent grill to own, simply because it is one of the most versatile BBQ grills to ever hit the market.

Its large 84 square inch cooking surface, makes cooking for a large family an absolute breeze. The On/Off button is in just the right place, for easy access. The Power and ready light, is easy to see, so you know when your grill is on and ready for some cooking action!

The special Tilt feature, enable the nasty grease to run away from your food, and off of the BBQ grilling surface, right into the handy grease drip tray, for easy disposal.

The 1 inch floating hinge, allows for cooking extra thick steaks and chops. The 5 interchangeable grill plates with exclusive triple non-stick coating make cleanup simple and easy.

This new grill also comes complete with 5 removable grilling plates, including: 1 Grill Plate, 1 Steak Plate, 2 Waffle Plates, and 1 Shallow Pan.

http://www.aawsales.com/

For the past few years, parents have struggled to keep their young children away from potential allergens. Mainstream thought said that the younger you expose a child to things like peanuts, the greater their risk of developing dangerous allergies. With all of the buzz on peanut allergies causing death, more and more parents have been terrified to let their child play in the same room where a peanut butter sandwich has been prepared!

Now, new studies are finding it is very possible that the precautions parents have been taking to avoid allergies might be the very reason that allergies in children are on the rise in the U.S. The most recent theory is that early exposure to things that cause allergies might help children’s developing immune systems to understand the difference between something that is truly bad for you like germs and something that shouldn’t be a danger, such as pet hair. This is similar to the principles used in immunization.

“What we’ve learned is that it may, in fact, be important to be exposed early on to a sufficient quantity of allergy-causing substances to train the immune system that they are not a threat,” says Andy Saxon of the University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA). “And, in people who already have allergies, we see for the first time where the problems lie, and we have new opportunities to tweak the system.”

Tests are now being done to determine whether or not exposing infants to peanuts can lower the risk of peanut allergies later. This is an important study, because every year in the U.S. 15,000 people suffer from a severe allergy attack brought on by exposure to peanuts – and 100 of those people actually die. While the testing is in its early stages, scientists don’t recommend giving your baby peanuts at home to test the theory. The tests they are conducting are obviously being done in controlled environments, and as a result none of the children tested are in danger.

Salim Jordan is Editor and Publisher of MoreThanLinks.com. He writes on health and medicine. Visit http://health.morethanlinks.com

If you are one of the 32 million adults in the UK who suffers with sleeplessness or insomnia then you must ask yourself these 3 questions and then read on to find out which treatment will help you.

3 Critical Questions About Your Insomnia:

1) What type of insomnia do you suffer with?

Insomnia and sleeplessness can be either transient (temporary) or chronic, read below and decide which type you have:

Transient:- Usually lasts less than 4 weeks and is often caused by stress, a brief illness, travelling or temporary pain.

Chronic:- You will have suffered for more than one month and maybe several months or even years. Chronic insomnia can be caused by long term illness, chronic pain, depression and old age.

2) What treatments are available for sleeplessness and insomnia?
Essentially there are 6 common treatments for insomnia and sleeplessness; some have proven more beneficial than others. If you have transient (temporary) insomnia you most likely wont need any treatment as your sleep pattern should return to normal by itself.

However, if your insomnia is chronic you will almost certainly require one of the following treatments:

i) Conventional sleeping tablets from your doctor.
Most doctors prescribe a range of drugs called hypnotics (benzodiazepines) for the treatment of chronic insomnia. The action of these drugs is to calm the nervous system.

They have shown limited success in treating insomnia. The main drawbacks are that they are not effective for more than a short period of time (a few weeks) and they are very addictive. As if that’s not enough, they also cause a ‘heavy headed’ feeling upon waking and cause frequent drowsiness during the day. In brief, these drugs are not suitable for long term use or for people who need to be alert and able to concentrate during the day

ii) Herbal remedies. There are many herbal remedies available as over the counter medicines. The vast majority of them contain a concoction of different herbs blended together in the hope that you will respond to at least one of the herbs in the mixture. The most frequently used herbs are camomile, valerian root, passion flower, and lemon balm. These can be drank as an infusion or taken in a tablet form.

On the plus side herbs have very little side effects, so they can be used for long periods. The main drawback remains that the fact that a lot of people simply are not responsive to herbal properties so receive no benefit at all.

iii) Relaxation therapy. Virtually all insomnia sufferers are advised to try relaxation therapy because it doesn’t involve taking tablets and it’s totally non-invasive. The principal behind relaxation therapy is that if your insomnia is caused by stress, pain, or depression and you relax your body before going to bed you are more likely to be able to get to sleep.

Common relaxation techniques are, listening to ‘inner peace’ music, meditating, massage and deep breathing. If you suffer with stress, anxiety or pain related insomnia, relaxation may well help you get off to sleep, but it won’t stop you from waking during the night. What’s more, if your sleeplessness is caused by something other than stress or pain relaxation will not help you at all.

iv) Homeopathy. Homeopathic treatments involve a trained homeopathic therapist assessing your overall health and prescribing a fusion of several homeopathic remedies to be taken daily.

Many chronic insomnia sufferers have reported benefits from homeopathy but you must have a full assessment by a trained practitioner, you can not buy these remedies over the counter. Some people can take several months to respond favourably to homeopathy, persistence s a must.

v) Melatonin drug therapy. In short, the hormone melatonin controls your body’s ability to sleep. Quite simply, if you do not have sufficient amounts of melatonin in your body you will not be able to sleep.

Obviously, it stands to reason that if insomnia is caused by a lack of melatonin in the body, then surely increasing the amount of melatonin in the body will resolve your insomnia, and that is true. This is the way to permanently resolve insomnia, BUT, and when dealing with the human body there always seems to be a but, it is not very easy to increase the body’s melatonin levels, that’s why insomnia has historically been nearly impossible to treat.

Melatonin drug therapy involves taking melatonin supplements in tablet form. You must take a synthetic melatonin hormone on a daily basis. It is available in the USA and some other countries but has not been given a license in the UK. The main reason for this is that is when you take a synthetic hormone
your body can stop or reduce its own production of the hormone because it senses a source from elsewhere, so taking synthetic melatonin could cause your body to give up melatonin production altogether leaving you totally dependant on the synthetic hormone.

vi) Magnetic melatonin therapy. Fortunately the most effective method of raising melatonin levels within the body is available in the UK; stimulating your body to increase its own production of melatonin naturally, without drugs or chemicals. This is achieved by exposing the melatonin production centre (the pineal gland in the brain) to a strong static magnetic field.

Debbie Shimadry is qualified magnetic therapist and pain nurse specialist. She appears on several BBC radio stations as an expert guest on magnetic therapy and is also the managing director of leading magnetic therapycompany worldofmagnets.co.uk To find out how magnetic therapy can help you, visit magnetictherapyfacts.org.

Flip flops aren’t what they used to be – and they aren’t just for kids and men anymore either. Womens flipflops have come a very long way in recent years. Womens flipflops are available in a variety of styles, colors and designs, and they have become a huge part of many women’s wardrobes.

Flip flops are even commonly seen in the work place these days! The designs of flip flops have become so flattering that they are now suitable to wear with dresses, skirts, slacks, and jeans. Of course, flip flops and shorts will always go well together! Flip flops come in a wide variety of styles and designs. Some have heels, and some are flat. Some have the traditional rubberized soles, while others are made of leather, wood, plastic, and a huge variety of other types of materials. When it comes to flip flops, anything goes, and all things are possible!

Flip flops are very flattering when worn with Capri style pants. In fact, it seems that the Capri style pants are what made flip flops more attractive to women. Designers were forced to sit up and take notice. They finally realized that women will not be content with the same old – ugly – style flip flops that were available for years in a one-size, one-style fits all fashion. Today, women want their footwear – even their flip flops – to be fashionable and stylish – and designers have answered that demand!

Many famous designers now have flip flop designs out on the market, and there are shoe companies that specialize only in flip flop sandals. Because each woman has an intricate style of her own, many of them even decorate their flip flops to make them even more stylish and unique.

Flip flops are not as cheap as they once were either. Of course, you can still find the old style of flip flops and purchase a pair of those for less than three bucks, but the more stylish – cute – flip flops cost quite a bit more. Some women even pay upwards of $100 for a pair of flip flops – and flip flops by famous designers go even higher!

Aside from the overall appearance of the shoe, many flip flop designers have taken more of an interest in comfort and support when it comes to flip flop designs as well. There are many styles of flip flops on the market today that feature arch support. The thong that goes between the toes is often made of the softest leather to keep the material from rubbing blisters between the toes as well. Comfort, support, fit, style, and design are all factors when new flip flops are made today!

Fit is something that was never important in the past when it came to flip flops. Women had a choice between small, medium, large, and in some instances, even extra large. Today, quality flip flops have actual shoe sizes so that women can get a better – more comfortable fit. This is revolutionary in the flip flop world – kids and men still have to settle for small, medium, large, and extra large in most cases, and their choices are very limited when it comes to flip flops.

Flip flops are seen everywhere you look – everyday. Women even wear flip flops in the winter. They are easy to slid into to step outside, or even to make a quick trip next door or to the store. Many women even use flip flops as substitutes for house slippers – because they are comfortable, and they serve the purpose without making a woman’s feet too warm.

We expect the flip flop to evolve even more in the future. The renewed interest that women have shown in these types of shoes will ultimately drive designers and manufacturers to give women even more of what they want – before the competition does. We definitely haven’t seen the last changes in womens flipflops! Keep an eye on the flip flop section at your favorite shoe store to see what the designers have in mind for us next!

Shoes-heaven.com provides you with information on the latest womens shoe fashion, womens flipflops and much, much more. For shoes, come to shoes-heaven.com! http://www.shoes-heaven.com/

If you own a mobile oil change business and you have at least 100 monthly customers or 300 customers total you may wish to consider buying bulk oil to save costs. Oil is a large cost in the mobile oil change business, although not as much as labor. But any savings you get means more profit for your small business.

As the Founder of the Oil Change Guys, let me share some secrets with you. You see suppliers for bulk are usually regional and sometimes for best service and price you may find it is more a matter of the area rather than the brand. Although for customers it is more about brand. Some larger fleet customers will specify brand and you want to make sure you can oblige otherwise your competitor gets the account instead of you.

We have always found that a proper deal with a local regional supplier can in fact be significant, even to the point where the regional Oil Company reps pay you a visit and see what they can do to help you. Including things such as no-interest loans and/or financing deals based on purchases or guarantees of purchases. This can assist you with expansion dollars to take on larger local and regional accounts and expand your business, buy new units or buy out a pesky competitor, which can add accounts without long travel times.

To find a bulk oil supplier you will probably need to check around. Let’s say you are in OH for instance. This is a good state for jobbers and suppliers, which means there are some really good choices and a little bit of competition for you to get better services, extras and a lower price. Of course too across the River in KY you will find a support structure available through Valvoline, although they might also consider you competition to their own in-house mobile oil change units. They do have mobile oil change company software.

Of course if you are doing fleets and intend to do more you may not wish to put all your eggs in one basket as some larger fleets prefer Chevron which has a huge following and others will only use Shell Rotella; http://www.rotella.com/ One good place to check to see which jobbers are in your area servicing oil needs is to check with the local School District, why not check with the Superintendent of Transportation, where do they buy
their bulk oil for the buses? That might give you a good lead?

Indeed it pays to shop around when looking for a jobber of bulk oil and it further makes sense to use a local supplier as they may end up referring business to you, because they know you will be using their products. So think on this, as you supplier is part of your business team, all the way around it. They know it and you should know it too.

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

arian6: “Maybe we could get together sometime and play.”
tomekee8: “Yeah that would be fun. My dad just gave me a new x-box.”"
arian6: “Maybe I could come over to your house sometime. “What games do you have?”
tomekee8: “I’ll show you”
arian6: “Okay, where do you live?”
tomekee8: “I live at…”

“Tommy, are you getting your homework done?” The voice of Tommy’s mother insistently penetrates the closed and locked bedroom door.

tomekee8: “Hold on.”

“Tommy?” The knock on the bedroom door is firm.
“Just a minute, Mom.”
“You better have that report finished! It’s 10 o’clock. What are you doing in there?”

tomekee8:”My mom’s outside. Talk to you later.”
arian6: “Okay, but don’t forget to tell me where you live, I want to come over.”
tomekee8: “Don’t worry, I’ll…”

“Tommy! It’s time to go to bed. Do you have that report finished?”
“Just a minute, Mom.”

tomekee8: “kk. Talk to tomorrow.”

Tommy exits messenger and feeds some paper into the printer. He races to the door just as the printer starts spewing out printed sheets.
“Almost have it, Mom.”
His mother enters Tommy’s room, clearly suspicious. “Is that all you’ve been doing in here?”
“Sure, Mom. What else would I be doing?”

The Secret Wilderness

It’s virtually impossible for parents to know what a child is doing online. Today, children can access the web through their own computer, the library or a friend’s computer, or even their own cell phone.

We know what the benefits to the Internet are, but we are a bit mystified by the dangers. To those of us who grew up without the Internet, we tend to be either completely naive, or in a perpetual state of overblown hysteria, seeing a pedophile behind every keystroke.

So, what are the actual cyberspace dangers to our kids, anyway?

Because of the anonymity of the Internet, anyone can assume any identity. Even though chats ask for a member profile to be filled out, there is absolutely no guarantee that the information is in any way correct, or that it has to be filled out at all.

Consequently, there is no absolute way of telling whether the person you are chatting with is who they say they are. Does this mean that that person is dangerous or has harmful intent? In nine cases out of ten, the answer is “no.”

But there are those few cases in which a pedophile is posing as someone else, and does have harmful intent. Statistics tell us that 1 out of 5 children accessing chat rooms are approached by pedophiles.

How can you possibly know what your child is doing in Cyberspace?

While most parents feel they know what their child is doing online, the truth is that only 25% of all children approached by a pedophile have actually reported it to their parents.

Children accessing pornographic sites (either deliberately or accidentally) rarely tell their parents. And, I can guarantee you, none will tell you about whom they are talking with on the messenger services unless that person becomes threatening or scary in some way.

Then there are the blogs and MySpaces, which are proving to be more and more dangerous as children post private information, pictures of their family and friends, and even their own home addresses and telephone numbers.

The Internet has become an intensely personal place, one where the child can talk to to anyone without supervision, and, in the process, give out sensitive and vital information.

If she herself is not in danger of pedophiles, she can bring YOU into the danger of identity thieves who gain access to your sensitive and vital information posted for all to view by your own child.

Knowledge and Communication are the Keys

The first thing to do, if you haven’t done it already, is to completely familiarize yourself with the Internet and what is available to your child.

A good place to start is with the Article “Child Safety on the Information SuperHighway”, http://www.safekids.com/child_safety.htm.

Once you have become an Internet Initiate (if you aren’t one already), you are ready to sit down and talk with your child about the Internet and its dangers.

Be sure to listen more than you talk, and be sure that you are calm, and not in a state of low (or high level) panic. Gently find out as much as your child will tell you about what she is doing and who she is talking with on the Internet.

Warn her about harmful websites, and ask her to tell you if she accidentally accesses something that is disturbing to her.

Don’t stop there – find out what she’s actually doing

You have to understand that your child will not tell you everything, particularly in the case of an older child, and especially a teenager.

Older children and teenagers, as we parents know, have entered the independent/invincibility realm of human maturation, where they are not going to tell their parents everything (or, perhaps, anything), and don’t feel there is any danger to themselves.

They think they can “handle” everything. It’s great to try to foster open discussions, but you are going to have to do so knowledgeably.

You are going to have to know what your child is actually doing.

What does monitoring software do?

The good news is that software packages have been created that will enable you to:

1) Monitor your child’s emails.
2) Monitor and record all websites visited.
3) Block objectionable web sites.
4) Record keystrokes, including hidden text such as passwords.
5) Monitor internet messenger services.
6) Run unobtrusively in the background.

In addition, the software will automatically email you the records of all activity on your child’s PC.

That sounds great but …

Monitoring your child’s PC — it sounds great, but it’s not a panacea.

Obviously, your child has other sources of access to the Internet than the computer at home. She can go to the library, visit a friend’s house, or even gain access to the Web by cell phone.

There is no way you can know what is going on in those instances, but you can know what is going on at home. And what is going on there is an indication of what is going on somewhere else.

There is no substitute for communication. Yes, you must regularly sit down and talk with your child about the dangers of the Internet and what she is doing, but by installing PC Monitoring software on her machine, you can do so knowledgeably. You can let your child know that you know – and you can block sites you don’t want her to access.

Perhaps one way to do it is to monitor her PC use for awhile, then tell her openly what you have done, and show her some of the websites she is accessing, and that you are going to block them.

You can also show her some of the messenger conversations she is having, and ask her if she really knows who the person is she is talking to. If she gives out any sensitive information, you can and should point that out.

She probably won’t like it

Well, as we all know, she’s not going to like it. But then again, she probably won’t like any supervision you give her. But it lets her know you are watching, that you know what she is doing – and, above all, that you care.

It will give you edge you need — and, what may be just as important…

Peace of mind.