Children And The Online World

 What do you think about Children and the Online World? The Online world has come to stay. The Internet is what we cannot do without at this age and time. The Online world is also a necessity when you need to reach out, to promote your goods and services and other things. A lot of advertisers cannot do without the online world.

The Young Child, Teenager And The Internet

The Internet has made
work so much easier for children. These days, no one needs to drive to a library to borrow books because kids need them for homework. Homework is fun, they enjoy the assistance they get from the Internet. Especially with Numeracy Sites Like IXL.  Sites like this one have made Mathematics so much fun for Kids. They enjoy it like they are playing games.

The Internet has so much to teach young children. I bet you, what it has to give, is more than the child can chew. That is where the parent comes in. It is easy to feel relaxed and forget about kids when they are online. It is easy to feel relieved of their noise and energy and just use that moment for your “personal time” I know because that feeling kind of comes to me when the kids are online. Their whole attention is focused there. The house is quiet and it feels good.

We can never over emphasize the fact that young children need supervision when they are Online. They are children. If we cannot let them watch adult programs and X rated movies, then we must not let them have complete freedom Online. They need supervision. These kids are so intelligent. A child opens up two different browsers, say Firefox and Internet Explorer on the system. On one browser, he is opening windows for sites that he knows his parents will not let him visit. On the second browser, he goes for educational sites and all the ones that are approved of by Mom.
When he hears your footsteps, he minimizes or closes one browser, and then clicks and opens the second one. While you are walking away satisfied and happy that he is learning, he clicks on the other browser.*wink*

Young children may not know when and where to draw the line. They innocently unconsciously give out Personal Information. Sometimes they know it is wrong but do not think that it is as bad as their parent make it seem.

For parents who have successfully controlled what their kids can see on TV, that is not all. The Online world has the power to expose these kids to all the vices you stand against. They do not have to spend a dime to see violence, crime, immorality, cyber bullying and all that you are trying to protect them from. 

There is still much to do. In some Schools, there is E learning, which is excellent. The kids PCs are connected, there is wireless Internet Connection and Kids can receive their homework from the teachers without having to copy from the board. Teachers send in notes and assignment to the kids’ PCs. Although this is good, however, with my old school kind of thinking, I still feel that this kind of arrangement can make the children lazy. It can make them too dependent on their Personal Computers. At this age in Primary Schools is when they should begin to learn more of hand writing and speed too in writing. This is when to copy notes, make mistakes and get them corrected by the teacher. If these notes are sent directly from the teacher’s system in his office to the Children’s where they only have to click, open and do the assignment, the kids may not even bother again about learning the spelling of these words.
When young children copy notes from what the teacher is writing on the board, their little fingers are exercised. Their speed increase by the day and they learn spelling while copying in their own hand writing. Introducing Primary School kids to E learning may just seem like pushing them ahead of what is just appropriate for their ages. (That is me and my thinking).

These days, even Secondary School ( middle and High School) students are exposed to Internet Pornography. They do not know when it is becoming an addiction. They just get consumed until their young lives are destroyed. They play the most violent and addictive games. When the addiction grows, school work begins to suffer as most time they are online, they cannot help pushing their books to the corner and spending hours fueling their addiction.

Tips On How To Control Kids Activities Online
  1. Computers should be used in open places like the sitting room where you can see what the child is doing Online.

  2. Parents should try as much as possible to make computers available to children especially teenagers. This will prevent them going to use Cyber cafes. It is better for your child to use the internet at home than to go with a group of friends to a Cyber cafe and get introduced to unhealthy Internet Sites.

  3. They should not be allowed to lock themselves up in their rooms with their systems. Kids computers should be kept in the living room. That is the rule in my house and it is working. The Dining Table or Couch is where they sit to use their systems. 

  4. Except during Holidays, use of the computer should be restricted to Educational activities only. No Online games and others. Right now Schools have resumed. The only time they are allowed to boot a system is when they need help with their Home work. After the homework, it must be shut down. No games even on weekends. Though sometimes they win by asking to use Google Earth and visit some important places. So, Google Earth is the new excuse my kids give for using the Internet after homework is done. I allow them but ensure that they shut down once they are done with using it.

  5. Children should not be allowed to sign in to Social Networking Sites until they get to a certain age. It is important that we protect their identity. Sometime  ago, I heard a Father tell his daughter “If you must sign into Facebook because you want to stay connected to your school friends during holiday, then your picture must not be there. You must not post pictures of yourself or family. At least one of your parent has to be accepted as your friend, do not accept friendship from friends of your friends” I liked that! 

  6. If it is possible to get Parental Control Devices, then why not? It is important to get Internet Content Filters. Family Friendly Filters are Ok. There are filters that can prevent them from giving out Personal Information.

  7. Talk with Kids, let them inform you whenever they see anything that makes them uncomfortable. Do not just make rules. Discuss with them and let them know the reasons  they should not go to some sites. When they know the risk involved, they will not try to sneak in there.

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