With kids spending a whopping 8 hours a day engaged with some form of media, many concerned moms and dads are wondering if they need to purchase parental controls for the computer.

Well, the answer is yes, but not always for the reasons they may think.

We've all heard about disturbed online predators using the Internet to prey on kids. We've all seen Dateline's To Catch a Predator. But, according to the Huffington Post, online predators aren't the biggest threat to your kids when they go online.

Internet safety is most threatened by cyberbullies, and by things kids do to themselves, like posting inappropriate materials, purchasing things, and even sharing passwords, etc.

Sure there are adults out there who would prey on your kids if they could, but according to the article in many cases the kids who get involved with online predators are aware that they're meeting an adult for sexual reasons.

So, do you need parental controls?

Absolutely.

Top quality parental control software allows parents to know when cyberbullies are targeting their child. It allows them to know when their kid has multiple Facebook pages, is purchasing inappropriate materials, or is even talking to a disturbing new "friend."

And even if your kid is aware that they're talking to a predator, this doesn't mean that parents shouldn't act on it. Parents have to keep parenting, even when their kids are knowingly placing themselves in danger.

So in some respects the article at the Post is correct, we absolutely do need to "rethink online safety."

But we don't need to rethink the solution, which is to rely on parental controls to keep an eye on kids who spend any amount of time on the Internet.