On my 12th birthday, I was given my very first phone. Being the last of my friends to have one, this was a HUGE deal. My mother believed that I should be at a certain level of maturity before having my own cellphone. Looking back, she was right.
When I was younger, I had two friends with very different households. In one, my friend was given little to no restrictions to the T.V. or internet. She could watch what she pleased and when she chose to. In the other, my friend was allotted a certain amount of hours for watching T.V and using the computer, monitored by her mother. Both parenting styles were polar opposite and the results were quite different, as well. It was the child who was overly monitored who felt the need to rebel and break the rules when her parents weren’t watching. In playdates to my house, she couldn’t wait to use my computer to look up things she couldn’t at home and watch T.V. without guidance or control. It was like finally letting a dog of their leash. It is easy to assume that once she was given a cell-phone, she acted the same way.
Today, there are internet filtering websites like NetNanny and SafeEyes that allows parents to block their children from accessing certain cites. This is similar to the hovering technique my friend’s mother would do to her. So the question is, do you use internet filtering or teach your children internet safety?
This is a hard question to answer and is largely debated between parents all over. Each situation is different and each child will behave in different ways. My mother chose to give me access to a cellphone when she believed I was mature enough to handle one. I never had internet blocks as far as I know, but I knew right from wrong and was able to know when I shouldn’t be watching something. However, I believe internet filters are okay to an extent. If you are giving a child an iPhone or a tablet at very young ages, like children I see today, then It is a good idea to put filters on them. I mean, a 7 year old with handheld access to the open internet…what could go wrong?
In The Know 