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The Online Mom provides internet technology advice and information to help parents protect their kids, encourage responsible behavior and safely harness the power of technology in the new digital world. Social networking, photo sharing, video games, IM & texting, internet security, cyberbullying, educational resources, the latest on tech hardware, gadgets and software for kids 3-8, tweens and teens, and more.
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6 Rules For Pre-Teens And The Internet...
 Children
as young as 6 or 7 are now as familiar with the computer and the
Internet as they are with their toy cars and dolls. With popular social
networking sites like Webkinz and Club Penguin drawing in ever younger
kids, parents are often left scratching their heads as to how to
regulate an entertainment medium that just didn’t exist when they were
young.
Although you may be confident that you have installed
parental controls and that your pre-teens can’t stumble across anything
too objectionable, you may still be looking for a “code of conduct”
when it comes to how much time is spent in front of the computer. Here
are 6 suggestions to help set the rules when it comes to your younger
children’s virtual world:
- Include the computer in their total screen time.
Whether they are allowed one or two hours of screen time a day, don’t
forget to include time in front of a computer (and time playing video
games!). Time spent on Club Penguin and other Internet sites piles up
very quickly and, before you know it, they have been staring at screens
for 3 or 4 hours!
- Do not allow computers or TVs in the bedroom. Keep the computer in a family area. They will see it as a family activity…and you can keep an eye on them!
- Be interested in what they are doing.
Whether they are playing games, networking with friends, or just
browsing National Geographic Kids, show an interest in what they are
doing. Just like their homework and their sports, if they know you are
interested, they will take it more seriously and try to please.
- Teach them to protect their identity.
Just as we teach them not to talk to strangers, we should also teach
them to not give out personal information over the Internet. Make sure
they use passwords and only interact online with people they know
offline.
- Explain what inappropriate behavior is. It’s
never too early for children to learn how to be respectful and polite
online. An early understanding of e-mail and social networking
etiquette will carry over to their later years and help protect them
from being cyberbullied or becoming a cyberbully themselves!
- Set a good example! Like
almost everything else we do to raise healthy and well-adjusted
children, setting a good example is perhaps the most important
contribution we can make. If you don’t want them to spend too long in
front of the computer, then make sure you’re not spending hours there
too. You don’t like it when their DS is a constant companion? Then
think about leaving the BlackBerry or iPhone behind when you take them
to soccer or the family goes out for dinner!
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