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Parents Responsibilities Extend to the Internet Too !
Parents who have children under the age of 18 at home are 'Internet Parents'. As such, they have a responsibility in managing what can be accessed by children on the internet.
The entire spectrum of human behaviour can be found on the internet from the most noble to the most debauched. As parents, we cannot monitor our kids internet activity all of the time, yet by installing parental control software, we can at least play our part, in limiting harmful material from being viewed.
Instant Messaging and Chat sites pose the risk of lurking predators. Social networking sites are finding more kids are faking their age to create their profile. FaceBook requires the user to be at least 13, yet younger children are changing their age to bypass this feature.
Internet pornography is a larger problem than we may realise. A recent study in Alberta, Canada of students aged 13 and 14, showed that 90 percent of males and 70 percent of females reported accessing sexually explicit media content at least once. (Thompson, Sonya. "Study Shows 1 in 3 Boys Heavy Porn Users". University of Alberta Study, 5 March 2007).
Internet gambling is also on the rise. There are cases where credit cards have been stolen by children for the purposes of internet gambling.
Cyber bullying continues to be a problem and can have devastating effects on the child, and cause mental stress for years.
What Can You Do?
Internet Rules are essential in any family. Talk to your kids about the dangers, and discuss the top 10 rules:
- I will not give out personal information
- I will tell my parents right away if any information makes me feel uncomfortable
- I will never agree to meet anyone I met online unless checking with my parents first
- I will never send a person my picture
- I will not respond to messages that are mean or make me feel uncomfortable
- I will agree to rules about going online with my parents
- I will not give out my internet password
- I will check with my parents before downloading anything from the internet
- I will be a good online citizen
- I will help my parents understand new technology on the internet
Install parental control software. This will allow you to filter out categories of websites you do not want viewed. There are over 50 categories an internet site may fall into. Try the K9 product from www.getk9.com as its free and an excellent product. I use it, and set it up on machines as part of my 'cyber safety' package offered to parents in the home.
The entire spectrum of human behaviour can be found on the internet from the most noble to the most debauched. As parents, we cannot monitor our kids internet activity all of the time, yet by installing parental control software, we can at least play our part, in limiting harmful material from being viewed.
Instant Messaging and Chat sites pose the risk of lurking predators. Social networking sites are finding more kids are faking their age to create their profile. FaceBook requires the user to be at least 13, yet younger children are changing their age to bypass this feature.
Internet pornography is a larger problem than we may realise. A recent study in Alberta, Canada of students aged 13 and 14, showed that 90 percent of males and 70 percent of females reported accessing sexually explicit media content at least once. (Thompson, Sonya. "Study Shows 1 in 3 Boys Heavy Porn Users". University of Alberta Study, 5 March 2007).
Internet gambling is also on the rise. There are cases where credit cards have been stolen by children for the purposes of internet gambling.
Cyber bullying continues to be a problem and can have devastating effects on the child, and cause mental stress for years.
What Can You Do?
Internet Rules are essential in any family. Talk to your kids about the dangers, and discuss the top 10 rules:
- I will not give out personal information
- I will tell my parents right away if any information makes me feel uncomfortable
- I will never agree to meet anyone I met online unless checking with my parents first
- I will never send a person my picture
- I will not respond to messages that are mean or make me feel uncomfortable
- I will agree to rules about going online with my parents
- I will not give out my internet password
- I will check with my parents before downloading anything from the internet
- I will be a good online citizen
- I will help my parents understand new technology on the internet
Install parental control software. This will allow you to filter out categories of websites you do not want viewed. There are over 50 categories an internet site may fall into. Try the K9 product from www.getk9.com as its free and an excellent product. I use it, and set it up on machines as part of my 'cyber safety' package offered to parents in the home.
Add a Comment
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Comment by Dean Stewart on January 12, 2010 at 6:26am - You're quite right Cable Investigations. Getting the computer out of the bedroom is the first step, and your follow-on comment is true too. I've just put together a 1 hour presentation I'm presenting to schools and community groups, where these points are also highlighted. Thanks for your comments!
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Comment by Cabal Investigations on January 11, 2010 at 1:59pm -
I think you've missed a low-tech approach: where the computer is located.
Having the computer in a highly visible location, such as the lounge rather than the child's bedroom, and with the monitor facing the room means that a parent is better placed to supervise internet activity when their child is on the computer.
Of course this is only the case if the parent is home at that time but another 'policy' might be that the children cannot access the internet when a parent isn't home (disable internet connections in all non-admin logins) etc.
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Comment by Debra, VBIZNZ Administrator on November 21, 2009 at 3:17pm -
Interesting points Sheldon... one would like to hope that by the time ones children get to an age of discovery they have been well taught in what is right and wrong, acceptable and unacceptable.... This teaching must take place between 0 and 6 years .... so the software programs like getk9 etc are purely support!
As a caregiver though I see all too many children who have literally been taught nothing about moving through life well... and I use as much support as I can to work with the children...
I've used another program in the past and it was fantastic... it would send me updates via email based on a set criteria about what a particular child was doing on the computer (each child had own logon). This would allow the children to make a decision themselves about what they were going to do and it gave me the opportunity to bring up the issue. It helps that my email is pushed through to my cellphone instantly too.
Support aside, the best safety in any situation is 'preparedness' and 'plan of action'.
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Comment by Sheldon Nesdale on November 19, 2009 at 12:12pm
- Ok, thanks for that Dean
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Comment by Dean Stewart on November 18, 2009 at 9:59am
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Hi Sheldon, yes, parental control software does work, but some are more effective than others, and it depends on how it has been configured. Have a look at www.getk9.com as it is a pretty good product. There are still some limitations that will be addressed in future releases. Internet filtering is based on the category a site falls into, rather than on the url. It also includes filtering / blocking annonomyser sites, which about 9000 exist today.
Sure, kids can always use an unprotected computer, and there are other ways to circumvent such software. There are more intrusive products out there such as PC Pandora, but once again, it is installed on a computer or network. However, simple solutions like installing parental control software is a minimum to protect the home PC. It means mums and dads don't have to look over the shoulder every time their kids jump on a computer.
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- Does parental control software really work? Most of the kids I know, know more about computers than their parents and would easily be able to get around it. And even if it did work, would that prevent them from developing coping strategies and using those strategies if they were exposed to the content we are trying to block them from, such as through someone elses computer?
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