Parenting in the Brave New World of Social Networking Sites
Parents are becoming increasingly aware of social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Friendster, just to name a few. In response to this awareness, there are an increasing number of websites and workshops which deal specifically with how parents can help their children to stay safe when they are online. Schools all across the world, such as LaCrosse are hosting presentations which cover the latest trends in social networking to help parents understand the safety measures which are available to them.LaCrosseTribune.com Given the myriad of websites and workshops which deal with the issue, some of the best advice I have come across is:
1. Do not ban your kids from using sites such as MySpace even if these sites are banned at school. Parents need to realise that online social networking is normal and if used wisely, can be a positive aspect of a child’s life. Banning children from using sites like MySpace will only serve to alienate the child from the parent and may even indirectly encourage children to use such sites secretly.
2. Be a part of your child’s life. Be there for your children when they are down and try to show a genuine interest in their life. This sounds obvious, but it is not always easy to do this in real life. There are many times when a parent simply cannot be their child’s “best friend”. Having said that however, a parent should always try to listen to their child when they are upset. By bonding with our children we discourage them from having to rely on strangers they meet online on sites, such as MySpace for help. This makes them less vulnerable to lurking sexual predators.
3. Offer concrete guidelines which regulate the child’s use of networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. For example, tell them that they are not permitted to post their home address and mobile phone numbers on their profile. Similarly, a parent should tell a child that it is inadvisable to post their personal timetables on their profile. Explain to them that this makes them an easy target for online predators. Furthermore, a parent should always tell their child that it is highly inadvisable to put any sexually explicit photos of themselves on the internet as this could arouse the interest of a sexual predator.
4. Encourage the creativity of using MySpace, use appropriate MySpace layouts for kids’ profiles. Teach them how to usel XHTML and CSS to customize page.
Parents need to be realistic and face up to the reality that online social networking is an every day part of their child’s life. From this, parents can set realistic parameters which regulate a child’s online behaviour so as to minimise the likelihood of them falling prey to online predators.
