PROTECTING KIDS ONLINE.

I read a report on the BBC website and wondered what members thought of it.

Quote :

A tenth of the 11-year-olds who took part in the survey said their parents did not know about the people with whom they communicated online.

And 13% revealed they were never supervised while using computers at home.

John Carr, the NCH's new technology adviser, said: "Children are pretty clued up when it comes to technology but they often lack the worldly wisdom to steer them away from its potential hazards.

"That's where parents come in. But our research shows they need to increase their knowledge if they want to protect their children."

The survey also found that 69% of parents thought they knew less than their children about mobile phones.

The NCH and the supermarket chain Tesco are launching a parents' technology guide, called IT? Got IT! Good!, which is being distributed at stores.

The chief executive of Tesco Telecoms, Andy Dewhurst, said: "Young people are often in the driving seat when it comes to new technology, and mobile phones and internet use can be of huge benefit for families.

"For example, parents can use texting to stay in regular touch with their children.

"However, all new technologies bring some risks and we believe that if parents talk to their kids and stay in touch with technology then they can be much more aware of how young people are using their mobiles and computers and can understand and help prevent those potential risks."

Meanwhile, a Mori survey of 2,300 11 to 16-year-olds in England and Wales has found that three fifths liked the idea of using computer games in the classroom. Half of those aged 15 and 16 did not.

It was commissioned as part of Teaching with Games, a project led by the Bristol-based research body Futurelab.

It doesn't surprise me. I am never supervised but i am 15. Though teens can be a problem. I have a friend who is only allowed onlinne when his dad watched over him and types for him. He's not ven allowed MSN since his dad it paranoid. Younger poeple should be supervised and some teens if there parents do not trustthem but for me it is common-sense. If i get an unknown addie on msn i will block and delete. If a pop-up comes up i will delete and don't give out personal details. Of course kids know more about technology too which puts them at a further advantage. To be honest i only speak to friends or friends of friends because even if my friend is not a main friend-i know that their friend is real.

There are a couple of sites that I go to and it brings in ones from all ages. It is easy to spot the younger ones and most immediately ask a/s/l. They are almost asking for trouble.
I decided to experiment and got chatting to a 14 year old girl. She truly believed I was younger and gave away many details. I did explain after but she said she didn;t care about telling people about herself. But by now I knew where she lived, that she regularly shopped in a certain shopping centre on a Saturday, and what she looked like so I wouldn't of had too much trouble finding her.
Children think the are wise, but they are in fact very naive......there will always be exceptions though!

I do check the history after the kids have been on the net, I'm not so worried about my 11 year old at the moment as she is only interested in game playing and with the raging hormones of my 13 year old son then I'm more converned about porn sites than chat rooms as again he has shown no interest in them.

I do restrict the time they are allowed on the net and will occasionally check what they are looking at.

Indeed, my parents have absolutely no idea of Angus or the other sordid people that frequent this forum, yet I have shared the layout of my home with you!

My parents basically know everthing that i go on because i visit very few sites. My parents obviously know about dooyoo as i have said i would like to go to a meet up. I join a few sites of my own accord but if it means inserting credit card details or address the will know about it because i will say.

I wonder sometimes whether parents are actually warning their children in terms they can understand. Making something forbidden fruit also makes it desirable. If children don't know why it's forbidden, they'll probably want it, y'know?

How do you warn a child against, for example, a paedophile? There's no point saying "bad man" cos what the hell do they get from that? So do you say, "A man that will make you do things with his willy or try to put his willy in your bum"? Or is that too much information? I personally don't think there's such a thing as too much information.

That's younger kids. Older kids, you just have to do the explaining thing and then trust them, don't you? Cos not trusting them is just as bad as not bothering at all. How else do they grow up?

My kids are generally more worried when I'm on the net as I keep threatening to sell them on e-bay.

Not having children myself I'm not clued up on this, but isn't there software you can install on the computer to limit what they go on? Lisa x