When considering whether parents or children are more tech savvy in a household, the answer is that it is usually the children who know more about the internet which tends to give them an edge. Due to this, parents should have the same amount of knowledge as their child if they cannot have a greater amount of knowledge. There is also the possibility of children getting around the various parental control software’s and doing as they please on the internet. Due to this, parents ought to know how to navigate through the internet which can help them be in a better position to assess if and when their child is in danger.
According to some stats provided by the San Diego County District Attorney’s website, children mostly tend to be more internet literate than their parents. Stats which were found suggest that 20% of parents don’t supervise their children when they use the internet; 52% moderately supervise them; 71% don’t supervise their child over the age of 14 and 62% of teens believe that their parents know little to nothing about what they do online.
What parents need to do is to place the computer in a part of the house which is the busiest. In this manner, children won’t be able to engage in wrongful activities knowing that their parents are present in the surroundings. Parents shouldn’t allow children to have the internet in their rooms till they reach a certain age as this can prevent a number of problems.
While parents tend to have lesser knowledge than children, computer and internet classes can be taken by parents or they can read up articles on how the internet can be used and ways of staying safe on it. The ISP can also be contacted to know what services are provided which can help parents attain new tricks. A number of ISP’s offer parental controls which can be used immediately. Additional monitoring software can also be bought by parents as these can certainly be effective in blocking off content which may be objectionable. Despite these, however, physical guidance from parents shouldn’t be overlooked or not given.
Parents can also have a look at the browser history of the home computer as this could give them a lot of insight into what their child has been up to. Cookies, cache files, and temporary history would give parents an idea as to what their child was doing online. The recycle bin on the computer can also be of help so that too can be checked.
In terms of internet safety laws, there is the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act which helps in protecting children over the internet. This law prevents others from obtaining the personal information of a child without the decision or knowledge of the parent. While laws such as these exist, these cannot help your child till you don’t become their best line of defense. Parents alone can provide children with the best kind of protection and this is something which can never be overlooked.
