Most parents usually just monitor and disciple their kids in the real world, usually monitoring where they are, what they are doing, who they are with...
Most parents usually just monitor and disciple their kids in the real world, usually monitoring where they are, what they are doing, who they are with and who are their friends. That is the real world, what about the other world? The Virtual world... The Internet or the virtual world, is growing and evolving fast with technology popping out everyday which will change the way we communicate, interact and live our life. It is as important as in the real world, we need to monitor our children while they are online.
Most children now a days are introduced to computer at a very young age. Usually at about age 5 plus onwards, when they are learning about everything around them, they are already exposed to technology. I guess the first thing they are exposed to which will hook them on, is the television. I mean you see kids watching TV day in and out, if there's no control over that, everyone can imagine what would be the consequences. I am sure as a parent you have also noticed that children also learn new things fast at this age when they are exposed to media. They will learn new words and actions, mimic things learned from TV, all these happens very fast with the growing mind. As parents, it is our responsibility to ensure they are learning the correct things and filter out the bad things.
With the virtual world of the Internet growing fast, as parents, it is important to watch over them. I mean if your kid is glued to the computer all day at home, it does not mean he is safe and in no danger. The danger lies in the knowledge he is gaining from the virtual world. Good things, bad things, all are absorbed into the ever curious mind that is learning every single moment. It is our responsibility that we must know exactly what your child is messing with online. This would enable us to filter out bad things and ensuring good knowledge learned.
Generally I think most parents are totally unaware of what their children are doing online. Most of them think that as long as their kids are home, they are safe. If you see, in the real world, kids might hang out at a local mall and mix around with bad company. You will want to ensure who he is with and what sort of company he is with. In virtual term, he is at home, but he is mixing around with people online, chats, msn...etc, and there are bad company online as well. This also posed as a danger equal to a kid hanging out at a local mall with bad company. With chats, one does not need to see a person in real, so its even easier to talk to stranger. And with no contact in real, one cannot even assessed the stranger's body language as to what he might be up to. Without the real contact, the stranger can pretend to be a nice person with words, and personal information could be reveal easily too.
Another danger could your child is breaking the law unknowingly. In the real world, if your child steals or shoplifts, the law would have caught up with him. In the virtual world, hacking into people's computer, downloading illegally, is the same as breaking into someone house stealing their things. If you know that your child is learning about hacking and such, then you can quickly take action and explain what is right and wrong to him, before any bad consequences can happen.
I feel that it is important to monitor a child online. We must be completely aware of what they are doing online and who they are chatting with. People might argue that isn't that an invasion of the child's privacy? If its monitoring an adult, then I think that is a definite invasion of privacy. But for children, we are the guardian of the kid and we are responsible for their behavior and safety. So, stepping into their privacy zone, I would feel that it is an action to protect the child. Of course, when approaching your children to discuss what danger they might be in, you will have to be tactful in creating the conversation such that it does hurt the kid's ego.
It is our responsibilities as parents to ensure that they are completely safe online. Even adults also get conned and tricked online, so what about little kids? Monitor your child online today.
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