Balancing Privacy and Protection in Cyberspace

July 20, 2006 -- -- Parents are constantly being told about the dangers the Internet holds for their children -- from predators trolling the Web for unsuspecting young victims to fears that something posted by a kid on the Internet today could come back to haunt them years down the road.

Despite the need to monitor and protect their kids, many parents also feel the need to strike a balance between their responsibilities as protectors and their desire to respect their children's privacy.

"There are some things that are distinctive about the Internet," said Daniel Minuchin, a family therapist in New York. "It's different than a parent going into a kid's room and snooping around."

Minuchin says the way in which the Web connects users to the outside world in a free and unrestricted way makes the issue of policing kids on the Net more complicated than poking around for drugs in a sock drawer, or looking for dirty magazines hidden under a mattress.

"I don't read my children's e-mail messages or AIM messages and consider that to be an invasion of their privacy," wrote M. Roche of San Jose, Calif. in an e-mail to ABCNEWS.com.

Although the Roches keep their hands off of their kids' e-mail accounts, they do keep tabs on their daughter's MySpace page, which they say is viewable by anyone who accesses the site.

"I do not consider this to be an invasion of her privacy," Roche wrote, "and since it's readily accessible to anyone -- even inmates at San Quentin with a lot of time on their hands -- I feel a responsibility to protect the image she is projecting to the world."

But not all parents feel that giving their kids a long leash when it comes to computer use is the way to go. In fact, some say that if you're a parent it's not even an option.

"I am responsible for my children's protection," wrote Cathy Klein of Pleasanton, Calif., "and so, not only do I have the right to read and monitor their e-mail, I have an obligation to -- and I do!!!"

The Kleins are not alone. Many of the parents who wrote to us said the world has changed and the dangers lurking on the Web aren't anything like what they dealt with when they were kids.