When Should You Introduce Your Child To The Internet?

ID 100116745 300x198 When Should You Introduce Your Child To The Internet?

When should you introduce your children to the world of Apps and the Internet? Wow! Talk about a controversial question. This is one of the most talked about topics in today’s circle of moms.

Whether they are gathering for coffee at the club, watching their children on the playground in the park or waiting after school for Johnny and Heather to come bounding out of the classroom, moms of all walks of life are in a quandary about their children and the Internet.

They may sit around and talk about the latest dietetics or they may talk about Mary down the street’s new car or even April’s latest boyfriend she found on some on-line dating service, but most of all they will come around to the subject of their kids and the Internet. It cannot be helped in today’s world and neither should it be. It must be a topic of discussion.

There are two schools of thought on the subject of course and as with almost everything today there are good points for both. You just have to find the right one for you.

For instance if you are of the opinion your child needs to get a head start in life you will probably put an iPad in his crib. You certainly have seen the commercials for a major on-line stock trading company. The baby is in the crib talking to you from a stockbroker’s point of view. Mom comes in and takes his iPad away after which he whips out his Smartphone and carries on.

There are those who say it’s never too early to start since they will get “it” faster and be that much farther ahead when it comes to the job market. Recently a young British kid, 17 years old, sold an App to Yahoo for $30 million. He began working on the App when he was 15, put it out there and Yahoo executives caught it and made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

The Montessori School system applies its techniques to early beginnings. It is mixed with freedom of expression from the day the child comes home from the hospital but it is geared to early development. There is a lot to be said for this point of view and for the most part it comes from parents who were born after 1980 and not baby boomers.

Boomers rather will take the side of “let kids be kids.” The angle here is; to be a well-rounded individual you must learn to play with others inside and outside. Sports are emphasized more than computers and so are the arts. This doesn’t mean sports and the arts are not a part of the other sides view.

It just seems as if the Boomer parents and grandparents are less into the electronic side of the world than the study hard and a get a job world. They are also very wary of on-line predators.

The bottom line really is a good mix of both is needed. If your child is of the nature to adapt well to early computers the key is to make sure there are safeguards built in. You control the early life and don’t just use common sense, but seek out professionals who also believe in moderation. A child who spends all day, all the time in front of a computer screen will find the need for glasses at an early age.

Teach them the dangers of the on-line world because the predator world of the Internet will only get worse before it gets better and the criminals will always find a way around any law and any “block” you can put on your computer.

Hacking is a lucrative business. It is something you and your child should be aware of and the ethics of the on-line world must be a part of that newly taught skill.

Kathy Davis is a professional blogger that provides parents and guardians with information and reviews for after school care programs and day cares. She writes for The Learning Experience, a leading after school program in Katy TX and Day Care Center in Katy TX.