Cleverly adept at communicating with children, child sexual predators hide behind the anonymity of the Internet to become whoever and whatever best serves the ultimate objective of many child sexual predators, face-to-face contact with a child. Although law enforcement is doing its best to meet the challenge posed by a technology that changes daily, the primary responsibility for protecting children rests with their parents. Parents should keep the family computer in a central location where the child is not isolated, limit the time the child spends online, set guidelines and rules for computer use, and learn about Internet technology to better monitor their child's online activity. Parents should emphasize that people encountered in chat rooms are strangers and that the same rules apply to cyberspace strangers as to those encountered in the real world. Parents should caution their children never to give out identifying information in a public message such as one posted to a chat room or bulletin board. Information through e-mail should never be given to anyone not known and trusted by the parents. Children should be instructed never to respond to messages or bulletin board items that are suggestive, obscene, belligerent, or threatening, or make a child feel uncomfortable. 8 notes and 5 references