ANCHOR LEAD IN:
NOW MORE THAN EVER-KIDS WANT TO COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER THROUGH E-MAIL. FOR PARENTS, IT CAN POSE A VEXING PROBLEM….HOW TO KEEP YOUNG CHILDREN SAFE ONLINE-AND STILL ALLOW THEM TO KEEP UP WITH THEIR FRIENDS?IN TODAY'S HEADS UP _______EXPLAINS HOW A HOST OF NEW E-MAIL SERVICES ARE HELPING TO KEEP KIDS CONNECTED- AND PROTECTED.

TRACK ONE Length: 09
FIVE-YEAR-OLD CONNOR AND HIS FAMILY RECENTLY MOVED TO A DIFFERENT STATE-AND HE MISSES HIS BEST FRIEND. BUT HIS MOM, BROOKE, HAS FOUND A WAY FOR THE BOYS TO STAY IN TOUCH.

SOT
KEY @ : 10 Brooke Cary, Connor's mom
"I did a simple search on the internet, to find a kid-friendly e-mail, just hoping there was something that I could trust out there."

TRACK TWO Length: 05
BROOKE CAME ACROSS "KID MAIL"…ONE OF A GROWING NUMBER OF EMAIL SERVICES THAT PUTS PARENTS IN CONTROL.

NAT SOT Length: 02
"Hi. I'm Kidmail!"

SOT
KEY @ : 27 Brooke Cary, Connor's mom
"It's safe. I don't have worry about anything that he shouldn't see popping up. And any e-mails that come through have to be approved by me first."

TRACK THREE Length: 05
ONCE BROOKE APPROVES A CONTACT THAT NAME GETS PUT IN CONNOR'S ADDRESS BOOK…AND CAN GO RIGHT THROUGH.

SOT
NO KEY
"If his grandmother sends an e-mail, I know I can trust her e-mails, so I can just let them go directly to his e-mail and I don't have to see them."

TRACK FOUR Length: 11
ALL OTHER EMAIL GETS A SECURITY SETTING, TOO.SHE CAN CHOOSE TO VIEW IT HERSELF FIRST-OR EVEN BLOCK THE CONTACT ENTIRELY.THIS WAY-SPAM DOESN'T GET TO CONNOR -AND NEITHER DO POTENTIAL PREDATORS.

SOT
KEY @ : 1:00 Mitchell London, Kid Mail.Net
"It is really all about trust. When a message comes in from somebody that you don't know, you decide what degree of trust to give to that contact."

TRACK FIVE Length: 05
ONLINE SAFETY ADVOCATES SAY KIDS E-MAIL SERVICES LIKE THESE ARE FULFILLING A NEED.

SOT
KEY @ : 1:12 Allan Kush, Deputy Director, Wired safety.Org
"If you're an adult, you get unsolicited spam from porn sites, from come
ons, from stock traders, just about everything. And kids, they're probably
receiving the same material."

TRACK SIX Length: 06
SAFETY EXPERTS SAY WHILE THE KIDS' E-MAIL SERVICES ARE HELPFUL-THEY'RE STILL NO SUBSTITUTE FOR A PARENTS' WATCHFUL EYE.

SOT
NO KEY
"Parental involvement is the most important thing for their kids to keep
safe online."

NAT SOT Length: 02
"ha ha.dancing dinosaurs.."

TRACK SEVEN Length: 05
BROOKE SAYS CONNOR'S HAVING FUN -- AND SHE HAS PEACE OF MIND…A GOOD FIT FOR BOTH OF THEM.

SOT
NO KEY
"It's easy for him to use. Its safe. And he thinks it's great."

ANCHOR TAG:
E-MAIL SERVICES FOR KIDS ARE GENERALLY SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES THAT COST A FEW DOLLARS A MONTH - OR ABOUT THIRTY TO FIFTY DOLLARS A YEAR. AS AN ALTERNATIVE, PARENTS MAY ALSO BE ABLE TO CREATE AN APPROVED SENDER LIST FOR THEIR CHILDREN THROUGH THEIR OWN E-MAIL SERVICE. THERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS FOR PARENTS - FROM SPAM FILTERS TO SPYWARE BLOCKERS - BUT EXPERTS SAY THOSE AREN'T NEARLY AS RELIABLE.

SOURCE INFORMATION
FOR CLIENT-STATION USE ONLY
The information provided below is for client-station use only. It is provided to help you obtain answers to any additional questions you may have and to help you localize a story. This private contact information, including phone numbers, addresses and email addresses, cannot be given to viewers nor posted on your Website. It is for internal station use only. Any exceptions to this will be clearly noted. Thank you.

Mitchell London
General manager
Kid Mail.Net
Trustworthy Communication,LLC
15127 NE 24th Street
Redmond, WA. 98052
Mitchell@Trustworthycommunication.com

Mitchell London is a founding partner of KidMail.Net, a subscription E-mail service for children and teenagers, requiring parental approval of messages. Designed with animations, graphics, and sound effects, the service is appealing to children, while allowing parents full control over content.
www.kidmail.net

Allan Kush
Deputy Director
Wired Safety.Org
8810 122nd Avenue NE
Kirkland, WA. 98033
Allan@wiredsafety.org

Allan Kush is deputy director of Wired Safety.Org, the world's largest online safety and help group. Wired Safety provides, help, information and education to internet users of all ages. WiredKids.org is designed for children. The organization also handles cases of cyberabuse ranging from identity and credential theft, to online fraud and cyberstalking.

Extra background
Center for Missing And Exploited Children

Polly Klaas.Org,
December, 2005
Center for Missing and Exploited
Children

Some web sites for Kids' E-mail Services

www.Kidmail.net
www.surfbuddies.com
www.kidsafemail.com
www.ezpzemail.com
www.safe2read.com
www.zoobuh.com

* Five years ago, one-third of households with internet access protect kids with blocking or filtering software. Today, 55% of households with children use those products or services.
* One third of youth ages 8 to 18 have talked about meeting some one they've only met through the Internet.
* 1 in 7 youth, ages 10 to 17 have received a sexual solicitation over the internet.
* 34% of youth have been the recipients of unwanted exposure to sexual material.