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Parents must shield their children from unsuitable material.
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Don't let kids slip through the net
Kate Hodal30/ 7/2008
THE internet can be brilliant - showing us what Earth looks like by satellite, helping us to look up long-lost friends or revealing just why Britney might have shaved her head. But it's also an unregulated tool that could spell potential disaster, especially for young and undiscerning users.
As any parent knows, regulating a maverick network like the internet to protect children from its dangers is much easier said than done.
But that shouldn't stop you from trying, as new research has found that nearly half (49 per cent) of all British children lie to their parents about what they're actually doing online, often pretending to be doing homework when, in fact, they're on social networking sites.
And one in three admitted they'd be in trouble if their parents knew what they were looking at.
According to a Carphone Warehouse survey of youngsters, the overwhelming majority (87 per cent) of parents believe they're fully aware of what their children are doing online - and yet one in 10 kids have had sexually explicit conversations online, with 10 per cent actually going on to meet someone in person they initially met on the net.
Technoparent
While worrying, such statistics should encourage parents to be more open and communicative with their children, says technoparent and supermodel Rachel Hunter, whose two children, Liam, 13, and Renee, 16, are constantly on the computer.
"When I first got our computer, I made sure to be very open with my kids," says New Zealander Rachel.
"We went through the basic rights and wrongs on computers and I told them that if they ever felt uncomfortable, to come let me know.
"But they do everything online - social networking, homework, research. It's a huge part of their lives and they need to know its dangers."
What worked best for her kids, says Rachel, is telling them the actual ins and outs of how the internet works.
"I'm a very black and white person, so I like to work out the negative before knowing what I can be positive about.
"I let them know that internet life is a blueprint: once you start, you can't just delete or get rid of it. There's a whole history of what you've been looking at, and just because you push delete doesn't mean it goes away. Once they found out about that, they started paying more attention to what they were doing online."
Potential pitfalls
Rachel is proud that her children have never had any problems online and attributes this to how openly she's discussed the net and its potential pitfalls with them.
"For the most part I use the internet to stay in touch with friends and family," says the model, who divorced former husband Rod Stewart in 1996 and now lives in LA with their children. "A lot of what's on the net is rubbish. You have to pick out what's right and wrong in the same way you do with tabloid journalism," she adds.
Luckily, Rachel hasn't had too many problems with the media - and she attributes that to keeping a low profile.
"I honestly don't care about being in the limelight," she says. "It's just the way it is.
"I've been in it since I was 16, so I've learned to take the good with the bad. I tend to keep to myself. I don't let the media affect how I lead my life."
So, as the offspring of two famous parents and living in Tinseltown, have her children developed aspirations to be in the limelight?
"No, I don't think so," laughs Rachel. "If they want to be famous, that's fine - but they seem to be happy just being kids right now."
Having also lived in New Zealand, Britain and New York, Rachel says she feels most comfortable in Los Angeles and wouldn't go anywhere else.
The States
"I love living in the States," she says. "I would never live anywhere else full time. LA is very trendy and you can make your own flavour quite easily. Plus it's easy to see friends and family in New Zealand, New York or England."
But without the internet, Rachel says, staying in touch with so many people in so many different places would be hard.
And other parents tend to agree, as the Carphone Warehouse report found that 80 per cent of children feel that they would be disadvantaged doing homework without the internet.
"My kids find some of the most amazing stuff online," agrees Rachel. "They're of a completely different generation from me and they pick it up really quickly.
"I'm still amazed at how you can get a whole review of a book online or spend hours rummaging around and finding funny things on YouTube. Without a doubt, it's become the TV of our kids' generation."
But until the web is better regulated, it's up to the parents to institute a watershed.
TOP TIPS FOR KEEPING YOUR CHILDREN SAFE ONLINE:
Learn how to set privacy settings on your computer to limit the sites your children can access;
Ensure your children understand that any picture or comment they post lives forever in cyberspace;
Explain never to give details to strangers and to limit personal data on social networking sites;
Understand and teach your children how to report abuse, report offensive materials and make a complaint;
Ensure your kids always feel able to speak to a parent or trusted adult if an online experience has been upsetting or unsettling.
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30/07/2008 at 15:36