The FINANCIAL -- Parents should actively engage with their children's online
activities by talking to them about the internet and occasionally
staying nearby when they go online.
Compared with restricting children's internet use, positive engagement can reduce the risk of harm without preventing the benefits of internet use. According to LSE, this is one of the conclusions of a new report from the EU Kids Online project based at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Published on Safer Internet Day 2012, the report surveys the strategies used by parents to support their children's internet use. It asks which strategies reduce online risks and harm experienced by children, based on interviews with 25,000 children and parents in 25 European countries. Parental active mediation of use – for example, doing shared activities online together or encouraging a child to learn things on their own while remaining available if needed - reduces the probability of children's exposure to online risks at all ages. It also seems to reduce experiences of harm among 9 to 12 year olds without in any way limiting their online opportunities.
By contrast, parental restrictive mediation – such as banning certain websites or not allowing children to upload photos - seems most effective at reducing the probability of being bothered or upset online at any age. But because this strategy limits children's internet use overall, it also reduces their online opportunities such as learning, communication, participation and fun.
Of the parents surveyed, 89% say they impose rules about whether their child can give out personal information online, 59% say they stay nearby when their child is online, and 82% talk to their children, about the internet. Around one in ten parents engage in very few of the strategies asked about.
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