week 13 - Internet Safety

Relfection:

1. I read the article by Mario Hipol called, Fighting Internet Filth.

2. I watched the video series from PBS called, Growing Up Online. I watched the following segments: Living Their Lives Essentially Online, A Revolution in Classrooms and Social Life, The Childe Predator Fear, Private Worlds Outside Parents' Reach, Cyber Bullying, and Updates.

3. One of the most important 'take-aways' from the readings and the videos for me is that parents play a huge role in how their children react to things on the internet. I think that parenting makes a huge difference in children's lives. I think that there needs to be a balance of how much time the children are aloud on the internet, and how much time they spend doing things that teach them about the bigger things in life, and how to be responsible (like working during the summers.) If you have too much control over your kids in what they do, they will become more rebellious. If you have too little control, then they will do what they want to do, and may get into serious trouble that way. Finding a balance that works for you and your children is really the key.

4. My husband already knows about cyber bullying. He had watched a show about it. Also, he already knows about the potential predators online. He has seen shows and read the news about all of the problems that happen as a result of being online. We talked about the amounts of control that parents have with their children being a huge factor in the things that happen to kids regarding the internet. We talked about finding a balance in the amount of control you have over your kids, and what kinds of effects that has. We also discussed how we want to deal with things, involving our own children and what kinds of parents we want to be. I felt good and calm about the way that my husband responded. Nothing really surprised me about his reaction. I know what kind of person he is, and that he is really smart. We have a lot in common, especially regarding social things. We have talked about things like this before, so I knew that his reaction would be similar to mine. I know that my husband will communicate with me any concerns that he has with our children regarding their use of the internet. Also, I know that we will try to be the best parents for our children, being responsible for them in every way.