PARENTS MUST UNDERSTAND TECHNOLOGY!
From Twitter to Facebook, from Tablet to DNS, and from YouTube to Pirate Bay, parents must understand technology and not to fear it. Technology isn’t going anywhere and neither is the web backing it. I hear parents all the time asking how to protect / block their kids from things that they don’t even understand. This just won’t work…. Parents have got to take the time to understand the different aspects of the technology that their kids are using. Technology can help fundamentally with a child’s development. It can help with reading, writing, eye hand coordination, arithmetic, critical thinking, and much more. As parents we need to embrace technology so our kids can benefit from it.
Please don’t get me wrong, blocking access to some content can help you in your quest to protect your kids, but you understanding what they’re doing and why their doing it will go a long way. Blocking the wrong content (which can happen easily) can harm a child’s good development with technology. One great example of this was with my own son. I use a service called OpenDNS, which is a DNS (Domain Name Service) service that can be tweaked to filter different websites based off of content that they have detected. I Love this service because at a flash I can block the majority of adult content, violent content, social content, etc. I found however that by doing this I also blocked him from his favorite website, YouTube. Now yes there is adult content on YouTube, but there are also great things on YouTube for kids as well. His favorite thing on YouTube is to look up how to build different things step by step out of Lego’s. Needless to say, my OpenDNS account was quickly changed to allow this site. We personally monitor what he watches on it, but it is a good resource for many different subjects for him. Wikipedia is another great example of a site that has mixed content and should not be blocked. Lesson: DON’T BLOCK THE GOOD CONTENT OR ACCESS TO IT JUST BECAUSE THERE IS SOME BAD CONTENT.
Another issue with technology that I see parents messing up is the age at which their children should have access to a computer, device, or service. If your child shows interest, then they are old enough to be introduced. I know some parents that don’t have their kids touch a computer until they’re in pre-school, and by this point they are way far behind all the other kids and are missing critical skills. Kids can handle a mouse, keyboard, and touch pad device by the time they are 3. Now I don’t mean go out and buy them an iPhone because they want to call their friends all night. What I mean is don’t think just because they want to use something that they are going to use it for bad things or someone is going to get them. It’s about monitoring what they use, for what reason, and for how long. On almost all the common devices and services out there, there are great parental controls to help (please notice I said help and not that they do it all) you as a parent monitor your kids and limit what they access. All use should be in an open environment, which can constantly be seen and interrupted if necessary. Lesson: DON’T BLOCK KIDS FROM THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY, MONITOR AND SUPERVISE INSTEAD.
The last thing that drives me nuts with parents is their immediate paranoia of the unknown and the tendency to block, restrict, and plain take away something due to their lack of knowledge. Just because you haven’t heard of something before, doesn’t mean it’s bad. Nine times out of ten your kids are going to know about something before you do. Talk to them about the things you don’t know about, and then go learn about it. Use some of the same resources they use: Google, Twitter, YouTube, Wikipedia, etc. These can all be great resources to find out about things that you are worried about. You should also call a friend or computer consultant and ask questions, as well as try the device or service for yourself. Some services and devices even have their own age restrictions (Facebook, Tumblr, & Google Account are all 13 years old). Not every device or service is good for all age groups, but with more knowledge in hand you can make those decisions. Lesson: LEARN MORE ABOUT TECHNOLOGY BEFORE YOU GET SCARED OF IT.
Lastly there are great ways and resources out there to help you. On just about every device there are password settings that will prevent the usage of the device if needed. Almost all devices and operating systems now have some program that has been developed to help with parental controls. Most routers these days have the ability to use restrictions by machine anywhere from time limits to content. Services like OpenDNS can help with content restriction. If you have any questions about any of these, there are plenty of resources online. If you yourself are not good with technology then call a professional to help set these up. Sometimes it may be a combination of different things that are needed and may need to be adapted as time goes on and as they get older.
Just always remember that the best filter is a knowledgeable parent that monitors and guides their kids in the right direction so they can get the most out of the technological world around them.
Jason Thomas
J&J Computers
678-225-7045
