Your kids are going online – that’s not going to
change. However, there are ways to stay informed
and help them navigate this online journey safely,
writes
Angelina Draper.
A
s parents, we are aware of
what awaits us when our
darling little angels turn
into tweens and eventually
(gasp!) teenagers. Family and friends
reassure us that these
difficult
years
are just a phase and that our darling
angels will almost certainly once again
make an appearance in the form of
mature, sensible, young adults.
Although tweens and teens have
been a source of headaches and
sleepless nights for generations of
parents, our youngsters face dangers
our parents and grandparents never
had to deal with. Terms such as
screen
time
,
cyberbullying
and
digital footprint
are
now well known to the modern parent.
While many parents believe they
should do more to shield their children
from the dangers of the virtual world,
many say they don’t know how to and
believe their children would find a
way to curtail any parental control.
“They’re so clued up on what’s going
on, that it’s frightening,” says Ethna
Measures, a Hong Kong mother of
two boys, aged ten and 12.
Taking sensible steps
So what are parents to do? Keeping
children completely off the internet is
one solution, but not a realistic one.
Just as we adults use our smartphones
and social media sites in a variety of
ways – from seeking advice on forums
and buying/selling baby clothes to
arranging play dates and book clubs –
our children are doing the same. Some
schools set up private class pages on
Facebook, and often circles of friends
create their own groups on messaging
services like WhatsApp or WeChat.
The first thing parents can do is
understand how their children are
using all the internet-enabled devices
to which they have access. This
includes smartphones, laptops, tablets,
web-wise
Get
December 2014
69
