These days a lot of parents understand the problems that can arise in letting their children spend private time online. But if their kids have their own computers and hide away in their rooms chatting and surfing online, it is difficult to know exactly what effect their time spent online has on their emotional lives.
Most of you parents are too busy to look over the shoulder at all of your kid's online projects and entertainment. In many of today's family units both parents work, and then once you are through with their work day there are home projects and daily needs to be met, such as fixing meals, washing laundry, or just relaxing after a busy day. So it is easy to let your child spend the rest of the evening online in privacy, leaving you in peace. But that "peace" can be the forerunner to tragedy, or in some cases, a very emotionally damaged child.
Here are some mistakes parents may make regarding their son or daughter's internet access:
1. Believe that since all contact is made simply by way of a computer, your children can't be physically hurt by any online presense. It is a terrible misconception to believe this. Not only can they be emotionally damaged by what they see, read and hear, but there have also been instances when a child has accepted an invitation to meet someone in person whom they have met online, which could lead to disaster.
2. Give your kids "privacy" while spending time on their computers. Most young adults don't want their parents to know their private thoughts and who they chat with online and parents would like to give them some privacy in that respect. But as a parent, it is your responsibility to guard your son or daughter from the threats of cyber bullying, pornographic material, sexual predators disguising themselves as children online and the many other dangers that can be found there.
3. Ignore the dangers lurking online. It is possible that many parents either assume their kids already know about the possible threats to be found on the internet or the parents themselves are unaware of the real dangers. Find time as a parent to emphasize the dangers of visiting sites that are sexually explicit, and explain the dangers of giving anyone personal information online such as an address or phone number. Your child should be able to come to you if he or she is upset by anything experienced online. They need to understand that adults with bad intentions will do whatever they can to gain their confidence.
4. Assume that no one would want to hurt your child by deliberate online bullying. Children can be very cold-hearted to each other even if it's unintentional. The cruelty can go beyond schoolyard badgering, becoming cyberspace threats - gossip, or circulating photos of your son or daughter by way of emails and other means. I would like to stress again how important it is to make sure your child knows he or she can come to you with issues that someone is bullying them online. You as a parent should save any proof of the bullying and contact your website host, email provider or service provider about this problem.
5. Assume that everyone online is who they say they are. Sexual predators will get to your child any way they can. They may offer great gifts, trips to "paradise", or even simply love that the child doesn't feel within his or her own family. He could even allege to be of the same age as your child. He may give out a completely bogus name, address, and other information about himself, trying to get personal information out of your child as well. Stress the importance to your children that not everything they read online is the truth.
6. Mistakenly think there is no way to keep track of your child's online activities. There are several software programs now to record how your child is spending his or her online time. Many of these programs can be totally unknown to your child and will keep track of everything your child does online, and will also take pictures of what your child is looking at. This may seem like an invasion of your child's privacy, but it could also prevent something tragic from happening to your child.
7. Permit your child to set up a computer in his or her own room. Without a way to track website activity, you will have no idea of what your child is doing online and how many hours of each day is spent on the computer. Your child could be up into the early morning hours online and you would never know. Having the p.c. in a family den or living room will help you be more aware of what is on the screen and limit the time spent there.
A whole new world of adventure has been opened up for kids by computers and technology. But as with everything, there are possible threats along the way. By being diligent, parents can keep their children away from most of these dangers.
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