Parents voice fears in front of children, and thus open up a dimension that they were unaware of. Don’t take your fear to extremes. How often do you hear, ‘Beware of porn sites,’ etc. At the age of 8 or 9, children have little concept of the existence of such sites. Take into consideration the age of children and their state of development.
Effective Ways to Teach Internet Use
- Acquire books on the subject and teach your children (home education).
- Make children sit with the parent to learn (education by imitating).
- Most Internet books start with an introduction of the Net. Read and rephrase it to the child in a simpler way. Then move to the practical aspect and, together with the child, explore the world of the Net. This process should last for at least 2 months. After that, the child should learn to use appropriate programs while the parent is in the vicinity.
When your child becomes Internet literate:
- X-Rated Sites: There are sites and programs which block most x-rated Web sites.
- Use the ‘history’ facility on your PC: this lets parents know the sites visited by children.
- Teach basic rules of protection: a. Not to give e-mail address or personal info, b. Not to buy products from the Net without your knowledge.
- Children should not stay more than 2 hours at a time on the Net to avoid addiction.
- Befriend your child, and together e-mail their friends, and agree they give you their password.
- Keep PC in family area, not in child’s room.