Lifestyle

Thursday March 24, 2005

Where danger lurks

Childwise by RUTH LIEW

Today's parents boast of the fact that their children are using the Internet for school projects or to improve their learning skills.

The children using the Internet are younger than five years ago since more families are now Internet-savvy. Some preschoolers even have their own e-mail accounts. Surfing the Internet expands the world of learning for both adults and children.

The use of the Internet has improved our lives. But there are also harmful information in the Web that children should be wary of.

If we are aware of a place that is unsafe for our children, we would warn them incessantly and forbid them from going there. In cyberspace, dangers lurk in places that children can easily access. Some of these dangers can reach children easily when they go online.

According to recent studies, there is an alarming increase in child pornography and the number of sex predators on the Internet.

Most children who go on the Internet are not supervised by adults. They are free to enter adult porn sites or give away personal information in the chat rooms. There are many child sex predators who are trying to entice children in the popular chat rooms.

There are no boundaries as to what children can say or do online. They can use derogatory language or spread vicious lies.

They may even go “dating” without revealing their actual age. They buy whatever they want online without parental permission.

One mother found out that her nine-yearold son was “chatting” on the Internet with a 17-year-old girl. He pretended to be 17 years old. To keep the relationship going, he asked his older brother to pretend to be him when they decided to meet up at a shopping centre.

Children and teenagers are easily influenced by the information they obtain from chat sessions on the Net. A father of a 17- year-old related how his daughter was advised by her online peers to threaten her parents so that they would give in to her.

A US survey found that 75% of the children and teenagers who go online are willing to share personal information. The teenagers who were interviewed in the survey revealed that they did not mind trading naked photos of celebrities on the Internet.

It is easy for children to fall prey to child pornography and kidnapping when they go online without supervision. Parents must be alert to the dangers lurking in the Internet, and keep their children physically safe. It is important that parents are Internet-savvy so that they can supervise their children properly.

Children are less likely to violate rules when they are told why they are not allowed to see everything on the Internet. Hold frequent talks with your children to warn them of people who will take advantage of them.

Prepare them so that they will not become victims of sex crimes that are so rampant in today’s world.

There must be some rules for your child to follow before using the Internet. Here are some suggestions to make it safer for your child to surf the Internet:

  • Place the computer in the living room or family room. Make sure that there is an adult in the room when children are using the Internet. In this way, the adult can keep an eye on the websites that the children are looking at.

  • Set ground rules. Talk to your child about the sites that he or she may not go to. Help him to understand that there are materials in the Internet that are harmful. If your child is interested in a new website that his friends told him about in school, tell him to let you check it out first. Remind him that there are sites that bad people use to deceive children.

  • If your children are young, have them share a family e-mail account. For older children who want some privacy, talk to them about how they should safeguard personal information and not reveal anything about themselves to people whom they do not know. They should never agree to any invitation they get on the Internet without checking with you first. Remind them to only open the mails that are sent by those whom they are familiar with.

  • Children should never be allowed to participate in chat rooms. They are too vulnerable to child sex predators. Criminals disguise themselves as children and teenagers to ensnare the innocent and unsuspecting ones.

    If your older children want to visit chat rooms because their friends are all doing it, set one up for them so that they can invite their close friends to join in.

  • Remind your children never to send a picture over the Internet or via regular mail to people they meet online. Child-friendly and child-safe websites will never ask children to fill up questionnaires or contest forms without parental guidance and permission. Your children should know how to value personal information.

  • Hold regular family meetings. During these sessions, encourage your child to talk openly about what he has learned from the Internet. Children should be able to turn to their parents for help. They may have many questions about the information available from the Internet. Parents can clear up any confusion that their child may have.

  • Set a family rule that there should always be an adult around when registering an account, creating a password or entering a contest. Tell them that many contests are not what they seem to be. They could be out to get personal details of young children. Children must always seek permission when they want to participate in any online activities.

  • Children must understand that they must behave well online and offline. They must never use impolite language or participate in any indecent activities online. They must behave responsibly and be honest.

  • Take caution if your child is spending too much time online. Make sure that your child is not feeling lonely or harbouring a fear of some sort. Occupy your child offline with fun outdoor activities. Go swimming together or play soccer in the neighbourhood playground.

  • Use a protective software program on your home computer to prevent your child from going to unwanted sites or use a filtered Internet Service Provider (ISP). Keep an eye on the sites that your child visits regularly.

    You should always be alert to what pops up in front of your child when he is online. It is not enough for you to just protect your child when he goes online at home. You must check out the places – the library, school and neighbourhood Internet cafe – that your child goes to regularly to ensure that it is safe for him to surf in these places.

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