Internet - Use It Wisely With Supervision

Hi,

Just like anything, it can be good or bad as it all depends on how one uses it.

So the same for the Internet.

I tried to introduce children games and lessons to Jason when he was young but I must admit that it was not as successful as I hope it to be.

We ended up with him playing games like Age of Empire ( a bit ahead of his time or age ) due to my influence or early expose to him of such games......

But importantly, surf the Net with your kids and teach them to search for things that are relevant to them. Set the guidelines and platform for them.

Eventually in school, as early as Primary classes, they will be encouraged to do research on the Internet for their projects.

Time has changed and they are the what we now can the Digital Natives or they are born and raise in the digital age.

I do not block any sites on all the PCs that Jason has access to as it will only make it more challenging to break through and satisfy his curious mind.

When Internet came into our lives, I myself also have to installed the dial-up modem and explore what it has to offer as I need it for my work, especially in the IT industry.

You cannot block all the sites that you think are not desirable or bad for your kids.
For example, I search for a famous model that came to my mind then and I saw topless photos of her as part of her portfolio so it has nothing to do with keywords like sex, pornography, etc....

So do not freak out if you happen to see such things on the screen but act cool and find out what your kid is up to......

Of course, if the child is addicted to searching for such sites or info then you need to pay more attention to it.

When I was a lecturer, I started to realise the potential of Internet as research can easily be done through the PC from anywhere but it is also a skill to dig for the right information from the right sites; eg Wikipedia is good for some background but may not be factual so you need more reliable sources.

Now, I can almost find anything from the Net to help me with my daily work and chores if necessary.

So you should guide your children to use the Internet wisely and then watch them from afar.

Happy parenting.....

David

Watching TV With Your Kids

Hi,

June school holidays are here in Singapore.

Due to the swine flu, I am sure that we are unlikely to be travelling overseas and take unnecessary chances.

So how to spend your time?

Well, besides going out to shopping malls, zoo, bird park, etc.....I would strongly suggest watching a movie or two or even watching TV at the comfort of your home.

Yes, watching TV!

But you should be selectively in the type of shows that you are watching and also take the opportunities to instill some principles or values in them using the theme of the TV show.

But never use the TV to occupy them so that you can have your own time or do your chores. If you must then do not make it a habit.

To improve our Mandarin, we watch some of the Channel 8 serials and at times we even covered up the English subtitles.

Besides watching sports like EPL soccer which is a great bonding time between father and son, most likely. But my wife does join in too and we have fun cheering for our team... MU!

At one time, we also watch a lot of documentaries like National Geography and we enjoyed it tremendously.

However, you should avoid shows that are too scientific, scary or horror unless your kids is old enough to know what is real or fake. Even if you explain to them, they may be scare and will have an imprint in their mind and it may haunt them.

We used to enjoy watching X-Files together in bed but looking back, I think it was a bad idea. Though I do not notice any bad effect on Jason but I think he was a bit too young for it; below 8 years old.

We have some good moments though; like the movie, Titanic. Though he was only about 4+ then, we explained the story line to him. We love the song so much that we memorised the lyrics and sang it in bed almost every night. The main actor in the show was named Jack and when we got our puppy beagle.... guess what we named it?

Jack the puppy beagle, came into our life!

TV or movies can be a great teaching tool, but only if we use it wisely.

Happy Parenting....

David