This year a computer may be on your child’s most wanted gift list. Consider this a good investment if your school-aged child does not already have a computer; it has become essential for survival in school. Having a home computer changes everything. Reports can be typed and saved, research can be conducted at any time and children can communicate with others easily.
With all of that said, a computer can be a nightmare for parents who must monitor the Internet, control the instant messenger messages and allocate time slots for each sibling to have a turn. The computer has become what the TV once was: the most popular family possession that everyone needs, and no one is willing to compromise. This is causing great angst across the nation, as parents turn to the tech industry to solve the problem that the personal computer has created.
How do we censor content and allow the good information to come through?
The internet is a lot like New York City. There are very good places and very bad places. You wouldn’t let your child just roam the city freely. To varying degrees, almost all parents evaluate and monitor their children’s TV and movie choices. What about the computer? Part of the problem is that it is impossible for parents to monitor a child on the computer 24-7, yet some type of safeguards must be in place for computer use. What to do? There are three areas that parents need to make some wise choices, location of the computer, time for access and filtering devices.
Computers that are placed in the child’s bedroom are difficult to monitor. Children can access all kinds of unsavory websites and quickly click them away if a parent knocks on the door.
Also, the allure of the computer can displace sleep as the major event of the evening. Late at night, will you know if your child is logged on? Locate the computer in an area that everyone has easy access to and that you can watch.
Computers have an off switch. Children need to have limits placed on the access so that essential tasks like bathing and homework get done. The computer is enormously entertaining. Surfing the Web should not replace riding a bike or playing tag. Children need a balance – so do adults – to learn to survive and stay healthy.
