The easy access to 2GB/3GB high speed internet and so called smart phones might be leading your child to somewhere which you may or may not be aware of. It is true that every coin has two faces so you may disagree with what I am going to talk in this request cum-article. I have seen people who have been immensely benefited by the access to internet and smart phone.
You might have heard that a Cooley in Kerala had accessed free internet from the railway platform for his study and could clear state civil service exam. There are many such examples. Here i am not going to talk about mature individuals who knows what is good and what is bad for them.
The prime concern here is the impact of smart phone among school going small kids. They are too small to use smart phones and internet for bettering theirs learning curves and learning outcomes. At the same time, they are more vulnerable to be indulged in the wrong use of internet. Firstly, because they are not aware about what is good and what is bad for them. They could not differentiate between good and bad. Secondly and most importantly, internet would have answers for every queries.
If you type on Google search ‘the benefits of rape’ you will get two-three articles saying rape is good and it benefits men. In the same tab if you type ‘harms of rape’ you will get the answers accordingly. So here in the case of kids who are not enough mature to differentiate between these two answers, may choose any of these two. So here is the equal probability that a child can indulge in wrong.
Here problem is not the internet but the level of maturity, awareness and understanding to differentiate between right and wrong.
If you believe your child is able to choose the right then you must be negating that 50 percent probability. You might have heard that a group of class 11th and 12th students were running a whatsup group and involved in wrong doings. They had planned to rape their own classmate girls. Fortunately they were exposed before doing such crimes. One student from the same group has said that there are many such groups exist in different schools and cities. So the submission here is that you have to be cautious, vigilant and aware about what your child is doing.
Children are our resources or can say the capitals on which our future endeavours are dependent. Children are often called the national property. So good parenting is not only your responsibility as a father or mother but also it is your national duty.
Here some of the pointers on which you may agree or disagree but these are the measures to overcome this ever increasing new challenge.
- Avoid giving high speed internet enabled smart phones to small kids till they become little mature (You may allow them to play games and use internet for creative purposes or creativity)
- Be cautious, vigilant and aware about what your child is doing.
- If he/she has to use internet for educational purposes you must allow them but at the same time you have to be watchful if he/she using internet for any other purposes (This is relevant to only smaller kids. If he/she is in class 10 or above then they must not be limited or regulated like this)
- Be talkative and friendly to your kids so that they would be able to express themselves freely in front of you. In such friendly environment they would share their concerns, their thinking, their plans, their engagement in school etc. This would allow them to say the truth and avoid lying to you. You should not react immediately if they share something with you. If you over react or do something immediately then next time they will not share anything to you and would start telling lie.
These are some of the suggestions for good parenting. You may agree or disagree.