A child must never look further than his mother or father to know about the use of the. internet. One must know about the similarities. If a person is considering blocking adult-oriented sites or websites that contain aggressive language, it won’t do anyone any good if one’s child knows how to bypass the parental controls that one might set. That is the reason why it is vital that a person learn how to use the internet or a computer if they do not already know how. Children who are at a minimum of 12 years of age must not be allowed to make use of the internet alone. Firm rules and regulations must be obligatory for older children.
Understanding Online Risks
Another reason why a person must be well educated about the use of computers and the internet is that this enables a person to fully understand their hazards. A person might hear on the news that an internet predator reached or captured a child, but one might assume that it would not happen to his child. Unfortunately, until a person understands how the internet works, a person might have no idea about it.
Social Media Predators and Parental Controls
Does a person’s child use internet-based chat rooms or social sites such as Facebook and Instagram? If they do, does a person know how easily the use of the internet could make it possible for somebody to create a completely new, fake identity? A good understanding of computer and internet use could better enable a person to safeguard their children. Does a person know that Internet Explorer, the browser that came standard, has a parental-control option that simply needs to be activated? With a few easy steps, one could have several sites blocked from his child’s personal computer. Unfortunately, a person would never know this if he does not recognize all that he could know about the internet or the computer. Additional online safety software and tools for parents can also be acquired online (How Do I Keep My Children Safe Online? What the Security Experts Tell Their Kids | Technology | The Guardian).
How Parents Can Build Digital Literacy
Now that a person knows the importance of continuing to learn about computers and the internet, one might be curious about how to go about doing so. The good news is that there are many ways that one could learn all that one needs to know about the usage of the internet and computers.
Learning from Trusted Adults
One could also ask a reliable friend or relative for assistance. Do not ask your teenager or child for assistance, however. If they recognize that you need to set up parental controls or keep tabs on their internet use, they might withhold significant information from the parents; as an alternative, invite a reliable friend or relative over for lunch or coffee and let them show you the ins and outs of the internet and its use. All a person needs is a few hours.
Formal Computer and Internet Training
A person could also take a computer or internet educational course. These training courses are occasionally accessible without any charges or for a reasonable payment by the native public groups, training centres, or colleges. Find out whether the child’s school offers anything. Several schools host informational sessions for parents on internet safety at least once a year.
Internet and Kids: How Young Is Too Young?
What many parents, particularly first-time parents, don’t understand is that several primary schools teach their children how to use a computer at a younger age or in the first grade. Obviously, they might not learn how to search the internet. However, they do frequently study the fundamental elements of the internet. These fundamentals might include understanding how to type on the keyboard, how to start a personal computer, how to make use of a computer mouse, and so on.
At younger ages, numerous parents permit their children and toddlers to play games on the computer. Though the software for those computer games could be bought online or in the majority of the media stores, several parents turn towards the internet. The good news about this method is that numerous reliable websites, such as those for Playhouse Disney, Nick Jr., and PBS Kids, don’t have dangerous ads on their sites that a person’s child can unintentionally click on (Should Children Have Cell Phones? | Debate.Org).
Younger elementary-school children are also likely to use computers and the internet to play computer games. Starting from the 5th or 6th grade, children might also start to use the internet to conduct research for school studies and projects. This is when it is important to start monitoring a child’s internet use. Also, if the child does not use online social networking websites, internet-based chat rooms, or other websites, it doesn’t mean that they could not open them unintentionally. Several sites are not very cautious about what ads they are showing.
Junior high school and high school students need the closest online supervision. These are the students who not only use the internet for research purposes but also to connect with their associates to make more and more friends. Unfortunately, not all youths are educated about the hazards that lurk online, particularly where internet-based chat rooms and. social networking sites are concerned.
Consequently, is one’s child ready to use the internet or a computer? As specified above, it is a person’s decision to make. That being said, be sure to use good judgment and establish several secure ground rules. Children who are a minimum of 12 years of age must not be allowed to make use of the internet alone. Firm rules and regulations must be obligatory for older children.
When discussing internet safety rules, be sure to make your views on. social networking sites and internet-based chat-rooms clear. If a person does not want his child to use them, state so. If they are allowed, establish rules. A few instructions to get a person started include making social networking profiles private, not interacting directly with new people, not sharing private information online, and not posting private videos or pictures online. As a reminder, a person has the ability to regulate when and where the child can acces the internet. Be sure that if a person permits the child to use the internet, there are ground rules and regulations. Also, children and toddlers must be able to follow these rules and regulations, for example, by playing games only on websites that a person has approved (Chen).
As important as it is to understand that one must be active, involved, and informed when it comes to a teenager or child and the internet, one might be wondering why doing so is so important. Though a person might use the internet to make searches to find jobs online or pay the bills, it is vital to recall that there is so much more out there. The child could be doing more than just responsible research for a school or educational project. They might be using internet-based chat rooms, personal instant messaging software, and social networking sites.
For the same reason that internet-based chat rooms, private instant messaging software, and. social networking websites are unsafe for children. aged 12, it is vital to recall that the use of the internet could make it easier to pretend to be somebody else. The child might mistakenly end up making a fifty-year-old friend while thinking that the person is the same age as they are. Evidence being posted on the internet has also been used for the annoyance or dangerous determinations when high-school or junior-high-school associates drop out.
Currently, those parents know the significance of being efficient. In the knowledge of the child’s usage of the internet, a person might be inquisitive as to how he could go around doing so. The good news is that it is comparatively easy to do so.
The very first step is to make sure that the parents are computer-literate. Do the parents know how to check the internet history of the computer? Well, do the parents even know what is meant by the term computer’s internet history or how it works? If they don’t, the parents might need to take a computer-based course or ask a reliable relative or friend, other than the children, to give a crash course. The parents should learn as much as they can about the use of computers and the internet while being sure to learn about the computer’s parental-control settings, its internet history, and so on.
When it comes to checking the computer’s internet history, be sure that parents do so. The computer’s internet history contains a record of all the sites that have been opened or visited within a defined time interval. To do so, open a new window of Internet Explorer. At the top of the webpage, you will see many icons. Click on the icon that has a clock symbol with a green arrow partially encircling it. This is the internet history of the computer. It will display all of the websites that the teenager or child has visited.
Conclusion
An alternative and easy technique to elaborate on the children’s use of the internet is to set up parental controls. The majority of computers have a parental-control feature. Make the parental controls password-protected and hide the password from the children; however, use it to unlock sites that might be blocked by chance, such as those needed for an educational research project.
Placing the children’s computer in the family room or often visiting the room is recommended. The children must be capable of using a common family computer. This will help limit access to potentially unsafe chat rooms and social-networking sites, as the majority of teenagers like to view these websites in private. The parents should limit the children’s computer use to specific time periods, such as when the parents are home. Be sure to discuss with the children the risks related to internet use. Let them know that it is possible to encounter internet-based predators online, particularly through private internet chat rooms or social-networking sites.
Works Cited
Chen, Brian X. “What’s the Right Age for a Child to Get a Smartphone?” The New York Times, 20 July 2016. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/21/technology/personaltech/whats-the-right-age-to-give-a-child-a-smartphone.html.
How Do I Keep My Children Safe Online? What the Security Experts Tell Their Kids | Technology | The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/aug/11/how-to-keep-kids-safe-online-children-advice. Accessed 27 Nov. 2017.
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