Keys To Educate Your Child About Internet Use
Today’s parents have the very complex task of raising children who are super-connected, super-informed, and therefore super-digital. They themselves have found that one of the keys to achieving this is being a very knowledgeable and tech-savvy dad. Having skills with the use of the Internet will help you to supervise the connections of minors and guide them on its correct use.
One of the keys offered by experts in child education in this age of the Internet is not to leave a child who uses it alone or unsupervised. No matter what age is your first time surfing, the role of parents is to educate, prevent and supervise their child regarding its use.
This does not mean that parents have only a restrictive role regarding the use of new technologies, especially since it is undeniable that the use of these also has positive aspects for children. For example, it puts information, tools and services at their fingertips that make learning easier.
Educating is the best of the keys
It is evident that the use of the Internet through tablets or mobile devices helps children to occupy leisure time and promote social relationships. However, its use also leaves open a window that could lead to inappropriate and even dangerous content.
So the most important thing regarding the use of the Internet, according to the experts, is not the age of the child but the education given by the parents regarding the use of the devices that give children access to it.
Parents should focus more on at what age they buy a mobile phone, on educating their child on how, why and for what he uses the Internet and what risks are there using certain tools or navigating certain pages.
One of the best keys to educating your child about the use of the Internet, as recommended by the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD), is the dialogue between parents and children. This agency recommends that parents agree with their children what they will use the devices with an Internet connection for:
“The accompaniment and guidance of parents is essential to promote among minors the safe and responsible use of the connection offered by a mobile phone. No tool should replace dialogue and education between the minor and their families and educators ”, they warn.
Education experts regarding the use of the Internet emphasize that dialogue is one of the key elements in the exercise that implies the supervision of the activities carried out by their children. Ideally, as a parent you ask your children what they did during their leisure time and that conversation serves to find out what they did and not to judge them. The idea of the exercise is that parents learn to listen, in order to guide and educate their children.
Supervision, not internet restriction
There are experts in the field of parenting who explain that the problem regarding Internet use in children is not whether they have a cell phone or not, since the device is not necessary for them to have access to the Internet.
Remember that tablets, online video games and other types of games offer the possibility of messaging with strangers as well as it is possible to do it from email. Therefore, the important thing is not that they have a mobile or not, the ideal is that they know how to behave appropriately on the network.
For this, it is necessary for parents to be aware, involved and informed about what their child is doing on the Internet. It is recommended that you as a parent investigate the device that your child has. Especially the level of privacy of the device.
Dad and mom should know, for example, where the photos and videos that are recorded are kept, if the platform allows you to restrict strangers from talking to your child, if tracking of the physical location of your children can be avoided, or filter the contact list for people you trust.
