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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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Six 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!
Comments:
Comment by Bob, posted 2/27/2010, 8:29 PM:
Wow...Thank you so much...Now me and my son are right in tact. And he's not spending way too much time on the laptop because he knows im always watching ;).
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Comment by ISOFreeTime, posted 11/25/2009, 10:53 PM:
Excellent suggestions, thanks! My kids have recently discovered kids' Virtual Worlds, and I was pretty skeptical at first about the online chat part. However, after watching them play Webosaurs a few times, I was pleasantly surprised. The other players are bright and funny, and cyberbullying doesn't seem to be as big a problem there as it may be on other sites.
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