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Between kids heading back to school and the Christmas season just around the corner, the wish-lists are sure to include all kinds of media?MP3s, DVDs, PSPs, iPhones, the iPods, iPads, the Wii, XBox, and miscellaneous other gadgets.
Here are some tips parental tech advisor Buddy Knight offers for making those new technology purchases this Christmas:
1. Match the gift to the age and maturity level of child. Ask yourself questions like: “What would I do with a Web-enabled phone at age 13!” Be a parent, not a best friend. Be wise in what you choose to give your kids.
2. If purchasing a new computer, be sure to include parental control software in the budget. The software delivered with the system usually lasts for 90 days, and may not be the best thing.
Links to some recommended monitoring and filtering software products:
• Cybersitter, cybersitter.com
• Net Nanny, netnanny.com
• Safe Eyes, internetsafety.com
• E-blaster, eblaster.com
• Web Watcher, webwatcherkids.com
• Covenant Eyes, covenanteyes.com
3. New equipment purchases open up good opportunities to develop household rules. Define the amount of time that can be spent using the devices, what is acceptable, safety rules, and penalties for violating rules. On new computers, give each user their own account and password so if someone violates the rules, you’ll know who.
4. Two good rules for small Web-enabled devices are:
• Do not allow children to use portable Web-enabled devices behind closed doors.
• Do not allow children to keep portable devices in their rooms at night. Knight cautions, “They don’t need to be tempted to do things?the later it gets, the stupider we get.”
5. Set up game systems in public areas in the home, not in kid’s rooms. Parents need to monitor what games are being played. If game systems are Web-enabled, parents should be sure children do not visit inappropriate sites. “Xbox has fewer Web surfing capabilities out of the box, but there are hacks that kids can find online,” said Knight.
6. Beware:
• Viruses can enable hackers to control computers and store files on their hard drive without their knowledge.
• Child pornographers are outsourcing the storage of their material to unsuspecting computers.
7. Understand all the capabilities of the devices you are giving. Look for any controls available to parents to protect kids.
8. “Give non-technology gifts; get kids off the Internet!”
9. Parents should be careful about what DVDs they gift. R-rated DVDs may look OK on the package?but they are often rated for violence or soft-porn.
10. Consider protecting your equipment by buying extended service plans, especially those that cover accidental damage, when purchasing upper-end laptops for gaming. Accidents will happen.
