What are the benefits of Internet to our children? And Why You Should Care?
Have you ever thought about how to derive the desired internet safety habits?
We have discussed how to derive Internet Safety Habits for your children.
So now, what is our vision for our children when comes to their usage of the Internet?
Turns out, our fundamental of parenting did not change:
1) We want the best for our children
2) We want our children to grow up becoming a successful and happy adult.
3) We want to have a healthy and close relationship with our children.
So for myself, I know that I cannot separate my children from the Internet as the Internet does bring many benefits to them.
The children can use the Internet to
1) Staying in touch with far-away grandparents, cousins, or separated parents
Checking in regularly with videos and photos with each other is a great way to stay connected when you can’t be together in person. I remembered back a few years ago when I was away from home for 3 weeks, I was able to stay in touch with my children through face time.
2) Being creative
Young people who are interested in music, art, cooking can find a lot of resources and practice on their own. My son Wei, likes to draw, doing art clay, and baking. He will search YouTube kids for some ideas on drawing, baking, or clay artwork.
3) To get entertained.
All people of all ages like the internet for their own reason. The online world can be a great source of engaging, creative entertainment for our children.
4) Learning with High-Quality Content
In the COVID-19 pandemic, most children are staying at home. Online learning has enabled our children to fulfill their educational needs while staying at home. My son enjoyed the QUIZZ app where his teacher assigned some quizzes. The gamification feature of the quiz makes the children feel motivated and entertained at the same while pursuing the learning.
It is important to make sure your children are engaging with high-quality content during their screen time. Studies have concluded that excessive unsupervised viewing of low-quality content shows a negative impact on the play, hobbies, sleep, hygiene, and eating habits.
1) Finding Help and Access to Vast Wealth of Information
If children are stuck on some particular problem or homework, they can search online and find solutions. They can also reach out to teachers and friends online for help.
2) Unlike some traditional education, the Internet is widely available and affordable in most communities.
There are so many benefits of the Internet.
For myself, I wanted my children to use the Internet in a positive way, to find ways to learn and get entertainment. I also wanted them to have a balanced life between their online and offline world.
I’ve got 4 children. My daughter, Suen is 10 years old and my son, Wei is 7 years old. I have a pair of twins, Yuen and Kate who are 4 years old.
Currently, due to lockdown, my daughter and son are attending online classroom using google class and google meet. On top of it, they are also attending online tuition via Voov (like Zoom).
Yuen and Kate basically stay at home and I teach them basic reading and writing skills.
One of the family values we have is responsibility.
You are the driver of your life. You are responsible for your own actions. You have a choice when you think about it from a different perspective.
So for the internet, you have to use the Internet responsibly. Knowing your own time and your responsibility to complete your homework, your daily chores, your meals, and your sleep.
I also wanted to promote the positive usage of the Internet. On the internet, you can find information or videos to draw things you wanted, to bake cake or pizza.
My children like to explore the videos to learn something that they are passionate about.
My son, Wei, who is 7 years old, likes to draw spiderman and transformer. He would search from youtube kids on drawing spiderman and transformers.
Here’s his artwork.
Isn’t it great to have the children use the Internet to learn the things they are passionate about?
How do you find your children’s learning experience using the Internet?
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Jessie Liew is the founder of Digital Parenting Coaching and a mother of 4. Her previous career included working as a cybersecurity specialist, where she protected clients from the harmful effects caused by online hackers and predators. In her spare time, Jessie enjoys reading, playing games, and adventures.
If you would like to learn more about Jessie and her work, please visit her website at https://www.neverfightwithyourkids.com/.
You can also find her on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn as Jessie Liew SP.
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