Internet and first adolescence: decalogue for a correct navigation
Italian Society of Pediatrics (www.sip.it) and Italian Society of Medicine of Adolescence (www.sima-magam.org) have set a 10-commandment code, addressed to parents, for a correct use of the Internet by their own children in the years of first adolescence
Decalogue
1. Allow the children to navigate the Net only if there is another adult at home and, by the way, set - rather than impose - with them some “shared rules”.
2. Do not locate the PC in the children’s room, and by the way make sure that the screen is visible to those who enter or stay in the room.
3. Get familiar with the PC so that the children will not feel they can use it unwatched and uncontrolled.
4. Use the current firewalls available to forbid the adolescent the access to unsafe websites.
5. Talk habitually with them about the way they use the Internet, encouraging them through questions and noticing any reticence.
6. Warn the children, when they enter a chat-line, not to give (either ask) home or school address, phone-number, or any other personal information that may identify them.
7. Warn the children not to send (either ask) photos or videos to unknown people and, by the way, remind them to ask the parents for the permission to send a friend a photo or a video.
8. Be very clear (not alarming though) about the risks deriving from unknown people contacted on the Internet.
9. Avoid to allow them to navigate (particularly chat-lines) in the evening time. Make sure they always tell the parents if a friend on the chat insists in asking photos, personal information or habits.
10. Sometimes navigate and chat along with the children, in order to lead them to a major trust in parents in informing them about their activities and chats on line.
5 tips to follow
Italian Society of Pediatrics advise the young cybernauts.
- Distrust those who want to know too much. Do not give any information about yourself or your family (e.g. name, phone number, home or school address, etc…) without talking with your parents first.
- If you receive or see something that embarrasses you, do not take any initiative without talking with your parents or teachers.
- If you are thinking to meet the person you are in contact with on the Internet, inform your parents first and advise the other person to do the same. Do not meet the person alone: in this way you will avoid nasty encounters.
- Never enter pay websites that require a credit card number or your e-mail account.
- If you enter a website forbidden to under 18, respect that indication: do not pretend to be an adult, this would be an immature behaviour.