A new study about children's safety on-line said almost a third of pre-teens have been contacted by a stranger while on-line, but all of the findings weren't negative.

The study, presented by Cox Communications, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and TV host John Walsh, exposes the behavior of young people on-line. The goal of the research is to help parents understand the dangers of the Internet and how to keep kids safe.

Expanded to "tweens," children between eight and twelve, the research showed 90% of them are on-line by age nine. The good news is 96% said they tell their parents at least some of what they do on-line, but as they get older, they tell their parents far less.

Even during the most well-planned family time, Julie Whiten knows there is one place her daughters would rather be. "If they had a choice, they'd be on-line quite a bit." The Whitens limit on-line access, but the girls were surfing at an early age. "We can't talk to people we don't know and we can't go to sites that are bad."

12-year-old Beatrice said she spends two hours a day on-line. At the first chance of sitting at a computer, she was quick to check out YouTube and her Facebook page, where she says she's like 28% of kids who say they've been contacted by strangers on-line. "When a stranger contacts me, I just push ignore."

Tim LaCasse said he's comforted knowing 73% of youngsters, including his daughters, said their parents talked to them a lot about Internet safety. Yet the study also shows one in three 11 and 12 year olds admit posting a fake age on-line. "I think a lot of people do."

"It's really great to see that so many parents are making it a priority to talk to their children about their use of the Internet," said John Walsh. Kids said they know how to protect themselves. The study suggests parents can't do too much to protect their kids.

One in five tweens report they're not concerned that anything they post about themselves on-line will negatively affect their future, even though there is a chance it will.