Kids and Internet; Good or a Bad Thing......
By shenlynn7823
@shenlynn7823 (641)
Philippines
April 7, 2010 1:06pm CST
I've recently encountered a father(wife's a friend of my sister)who bought a laptop for their 8 yr old daughter and subscribe to internet for her,according to them it's the trend right now,& what they have done is for her own good.I was just wondering if it's really the right time to do all this or is it too early at her age ( she's not even a teenager yet) to be introduced to the world of internet?while thinking about this,I remember an article I've read about a mother who allowed her 10 yr old son to have his own computer & email address,the reason? it's the fad nowadays.The mother has access to his computer & email without his knowing & there she found out that her son is using abusive languages,all sort of bad words used to communicate to his friends & even talking to strangers,she doesn't know what to do since she is the one who introduced him to this thing & he might take it in different way.I guess it is still a burden that she's into..It really raise an awareness to me,good things are provided by internet & at the same time there are lots of bad incidents that's happening because of internet especially to the kids.I'm also a parent & i want to give my child everything like what they have done but i wanna make sure that it won't do her any harm...Any advices & what would be your stand or point of view about this?
2 people like this
18 responses
@sachioross (23)
• United States
8 Apr 10
I agree with greyz7. This is the same discussion that took place in the early days of television and what parents should do to make sure their children don't "get addicted to TV or learn bad habits." The fact of the matter is that the internet is something that's there, something that will continue to be there, and something that will play an important role in almost any person's life in the modern world. So keeping it away from a child will likely be impossible to do (I've even seen some elementary school kids who had an assignment that required doing a little internet research).
What should be happening instead of deciding to restrict or prevent access to the internet is that parents should be mindful of what their children are doing on the internet. Ask them about what they do and tell them what they shouldn't do and why. Just like a kid playing xbox all day or watching television: if the parents are not involved in the child's up-bringing then yes: that child will learn the bad habits of tv, video games, and the internet.
@MaRiwEn (2)
•
8 Apr 10
yeah.. its right, its depends how you discipline your child and tell the boundaries of using his or her internet.
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
12 Apr 10
Computers and internet are not only here to stay, but it is getting to where you can't be without them. Biggest "wave of the future" since sliced bread! But as in anything... moderation and supervision are the keys to keeping anything or anyone on track in life.
Kids need to learn all about PC and how to use it and all that, they also need to learn how to use the internet and what is offered there. However, sitting in front of a PC,,,even if they are "doing the right thing", is not good for any kid. They stil need to play outside, play inside and interact with others and have a life NOT on the PC. And while on the PC.. they need to be superviser. Giving a kid his own PC in his room with not supervision or limitations... of course it is an invitation for bad things to happen. Not for every kid, but a good portion of them.
I really don't think any kid needs a PC in their room, anymore than I think they need TV's in their rooms. IF they aren't doing something wrong or know they are where they shouldn't be... being on the PC in the family room or around the family, shouldn't be a problem for them. And the parent can supervise. Teach them at an early age, and they will learn the good way
@frontvisions101 (16043)
• Philippines
7 Apr 10
Internet can pose as a threat to kids. If you're planning to give your kids internet access then there should be restrictions. I know there's a way to block out websites that you don't trust like forums or adult themed websites. I suggest you consult a specialist regarding there matters.
@mae_dyrish (237)
• Philippines
10 Apr 10
Yah i agree to you, it really on the guardian to guide their kids of what he or she doing all the time. And if the kids has internet access they should have restrictions out of it. There are some educational site for the kids to view without having harm to view unnecessary site on net.
@ybong007 (6643)
• Philippines
9 Apr 10
The internet has both a good and bad site to it. It's good for the kids if their searches is limited to the good sites and studies. It make learning so much easier. It's really the job of the parents to guide their kids and limit the sites they are allowed to access.
@myzire72 (1154)
• Singapore
8 Apr 10
Well, it may not be a bad thing. In my country, primary school students are being gradually introduced to the Internet at school. There are in fact many educational websites online which the teachers will sometimes show to their students and tell them the url, so that they can surf these sites at home. I do allow my daughter to browse these sites, but under my supervision. She is only allowed to learn online, and not to play any online games.
@bluemars (952)
• Australia
8 Apr 10
I really think kids should just stick to reading books and playing outside. Plus it will allow them not to damage their eyesight at such a young age. Kids and the internet should not be linked up, they can learn later on like most of us did, at a later stage. I think kids should be kept busy with more constructive things too. The internet can take up a lot of time and effort on stupid things because kids don't know any better sometimes. They should have more other activities to do. When I have kids I want to keep them very busy even if it is with chores but allow them to have some fun too with learning games and such.
@syankee525 (6261)
• United States
8 Apr 10
i think as the parents keep track and check on the child. they should have all the passwords.
i dont think its a good idea 8 is too young.. let the kid use thier computer
@sender621 (14893)
• United States
8 Apr 10
I think the internet is a very good thing for a child to have access to. As a concerned parent, close monitoring of your child's online activities are a must. Too many problems could occur without your knowledge. Take care.
@ridwan08 (1183)
• Indonesia
8 Apr 10
according to me that's all depending of need,internet can be useful for child if they use for good things,for example,now very much website special for kids educated and more fun,so child no bored to learn about something.but must undercontrol parent.have a nice day
@enix119 (101)
• China
8 Apr 10
2 aspects may be concerned. The 1st one is how to give kids access to internet in a more reasonally way. I encourage my kids to take use of internet because this is a basic skill nowadays. And another important skill may be trained for him that he extract useful infomation from all got from the internet and then, his own opinion of these information and issues may be formed actively. This is a useful ability and need to be practiced early, I belive. So we can find the advantages of kids using internet. Now the point lies in that as parents or instructor, we should take measures to prevent them from going too far and in the wrong way in the internet world. Measures include controlling the time, installing softwares to clean the content and so on.
The 2nd one is to foster their interest in all dimensions. Actrually, I regard surfing the web as one of extracurricular work. It is as normal as playing football, drawing a picture, making models and so on. What matters is that we must help them divide their interest into several areas instead of only concentrate on one thing because kids may go to extremes while he put himself on one thing and this is dangerouse. Internet is such a thing on which kids may concentrate too much. So lets just help them develop a colorful extracurricular life.
@tomitomi (5429)
• Singapore
8 Apr 10
hi shenlynn,
the internet is a treasure trove. for kids and internet it is only good if they understand the dangers of harmful online behaviors, an awareness of how to protect themselves and others online. as adults we should help them to be safe and use the internet responsibly by thinking carefully about the consequences of their decisions online.
@shivhae (51)
• Netherlands
8 Apr 10
i think its wrong at all to buy a young kid like that such an prizy gift. They are kids they should not be inside the house and be exposed to the bad things of internet they should be outside socialize play with other kids.
Incase they happen to need internet to finish of an school project they should do it under supervice of a parent and only be alowed a certain time on the internet. They should also not have a pc of their own i think its wrong on that age. They should just use the parents computer and only behind it for a certain amount of time. Just so they wont get addicted and get lured into the bad world befause first of all u get your kid exposed to bad language,bad websites,people with bad meanings who can do some bad damage to the kid think of dirty guys chatting with a girl making them do things no matter how much security u have on it they will get involved in bad things. It also doesnt motivate kids to go outside anymore and before u know it they sit inside all day behind the pc. In some cases their schoolwork will suffer on it as well. I would say its wrong what the father did for his 8 year old daughter
@1anurag1 (3576)
• India
7 Apr 10
i think on internet she is atleast able to know what he is doing but in real life if he does she will not be able to notice these things. there are no other way.
i think there is only a way to give some good manners to the child at home as this is the first school for the child and there can be an effect on him of this. i think she should tell him only good things to be a good person.
@stewartsquall (72)
• Philippines
8 Apr 10
Well, I'm also parent too and I have a kid age 4 already into computers. Well for me, you should not leave your kid wandering around the net alone. You should supervise them and guide them to what should be those things to know about the internet (bad side and good side). Don't let them play alone, always be there where ever they want to use the pc. Protect your pc with security password or software based application. In this way you will not have to think that they are doing what you told us in this discussion.
@jiraiyasanin (642)
• Philippines
8 Apr 10
you know internet cause bad and good effect depending on use, it will cause bad things to kids if the parents will not guide them in using the internet properly but if they do guide there children in using and saying what they can do in the net then it will results a good one to the kids
@xtm1986 (5)
• China
8 Apr 10
I agree with your view about it,you know ,the internet is a open thing,so you can find everything in it,whatever is good or bad.In China,the government want to control the internet by Green Dam,though I don't agree it.I think a child maybe given access to the internet when he can distinguish between right from wrong.
