"Well, I would like to hear what you would have to say if something like that happened to one of your kids. I am sure you would be singing a different tune."

If I had kids, first, I would teach them to not let petty people who make mean comments bother them so much. I would teach my children to understand that there are bullies in the world who get pleasure by putting other people down and that they should never give those people power by listening to their crap. I would encourage my children to go out and find things that they are good at so when some jackass bully gives them a put-down, they have enough self-esteem to either ignore it or laugh it off. Then I would teach my children to not associate with those kinds of people either by walking away from them in the real world or by blocking their accounts (and ability to post mean things) from their myspace/e-mail/etc.

Second, I would accept the fact that the internet is never going to be a place that is 100% safe for kids and that it is up to me as a parent to protect my own child. I would monitor what my kids are doing on the internet and I would pay attention to who they are talking to. If my child was being sent e-mails or postings that were rude or offensive, I would either block the person sending the messages or I would go ahead and block the site so my child wouldn't be able to go there anymore.

Third, I wouldn't let them have accounts in myspace since it's a meeting place for grown-ups. I don't care how easy it is for kids to lie about their ages at the site. It's still a place for grown-ups, and I wouldn't let my kids bully or harass me into giving in on something that I know isn't for kids.