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Why You Should 'Mentor' Children Online as well as 'Monitor' Them
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- Published: Tuesday, 24 November 2015 15:30
In The Real World...
The first time a child enters a playground with swings, roundabouts, slides and climbing frames, the caring parent is there to guide them, to show them the fun they can have, and to show them how to use each piece of ‘playground apparatus’ in the most fun (and safe!) way. The parent will, in effect, mentor the child in ‘climbing this’, ‘sliding down that’, ‘swinging on this’, and ‘spin this around really fast and hold on!’
However, once the child is running around and doing everything for themselves with all their newfound friends, the parent would still want to monitor their child from a distance. This allows the child to feel your trust in them and allows them to be more accepted by their playmates, but it also ensures you are there to intervene when the older kids take over the roundabout to see how fast they can make it go. Then you can move your child on to the swings before the inevitable, centrifugal carnage!
Don’t Do That! … But Why?
Everyone can probably think of a time they were told ‘not to do something’ or ‘not to go somewhere’ when they were a child, but the reality is that this probably just made you all the more curious and got you thinking, ‘Why not?’ or ‘I wonder what is over there?’
Instruction is meaningless without, well, meaning! Every childhood story has a moral to it that the child can remember and hopefully learn from. If a story was simply, “Never cry wolf - the end”, the child would be left thinking, “What is crying wolf?” and “Why not? What happens?” You have to give context, right from an early age through to adulthood.
Going back to the older kids on the roundabout… Hopefully they weren’t too hurt, but maybe just a little so you could say, “You see… Don’t go too crazy, and don’t let your friends pressure you into doing something you don’t want to, or you will get hurt!”
The Internet Is A Playground
It is! The Internet can be a wonderful place and is full of amazing things you can do. Technology is everywhere these days and children are encouraged to learn from it and learn how to use it from an early age at school. This is to prepare them for a working world that is becoming more and more filled with keyboards and screens.
Although family time that is ‘offline’ and involves sport, activities, games, or just good old-fashioned fun is obviously a must in the development of any young mind, guiding your child through the online playground as well will ensure they are not left behind, and it will also ensure they feel comfortable asking your advice about online things in the future.
Mentor your child in how to use the Internet. Show them the cool stuff, the really useful stuff, the hilarious stuff, the interesting stuff, the communication tools, etc. However, also tell them what they should not do and remember to put it into context with an example of ‘why not’ (the moral of the story). Even if that means showing them a news article where someone’s life was turned upside down, or someone who suffered terrible embarrassment by a mistake they made online. Again, this will build their confidence in approaching you to discuss things like this should anything similar happen to them in the future.
Don’t Forget to 'Monitor' – It’s Not All Safe!
Once you have got your child started online, you can then monitor them from a distance using Protecteon. This allows you to set boundaries, configure rules and alerts, and create lists of websites that are either allowed or blocked. Then you can keep them safe and be notified if they are straying into dangerous territory, which will allow you to intervene and get them to safety – just like when they were small and the older kids got on the roundabout.
Where Do I Start With The 'Mentoring'?
Protecteon obviously offers the monitoring part, but below is a list of ideas for you to spend some time with your child online and show them how “cool” and useful the Internet can be. Try to let them do as much of the ‘holding’ and ‘using’ of the device as you can whilst you talk them through where to go and what to do. This will make it feel more like play time and less like a lesson.
Along the way, also don't forget to teach your child the basics: 'good practice' guidelines, online etiquette, difficult to guess passwords, and the general do's and don’ts of being online. General guidelines for staying safe online can be found in our next article.
Some Great Sites And Ideas
Before diving in to show your child any of these sites, have a practice using them on your own first. This will ensure they do not get bored or impatient by you needing to take the device off of them to figure something out, or to create a free user account (required by some of the sites).
CREATIVE
| Site Name | URL | Idea | Ages |
| JibJab | jibjab.com | Take some face photos of members of your family using the camera on your child’s device. Then log-on to JibJab with a free account to create animated e-card videos starring the members of your family. NOTE: Supervision may be required for some ages due to some mild ‘adult-themed’ e-card content available. | 10+ |
| Good Tricks | goodtricks.net | This free website has videos and how-to guides showing you how to perform some top-quality magic tricks, from card and coin tricks to some ‘street magic’ tricks that can be performed anywhere. | All Ages - depending on the trick content and child's dexterity. |
EDUCATIONAL
| Site Name | URL | Idea | Ages |
| National Geographic Kids | kids.national geographic.com | Touch on any of the menus at the top and check-out the ‘Cool Clicks’ sections. | 7+ |
| Wikipedia | wikipedia.org | Search Wikipedia for a favourite musician or famous person. Show your child how every part of Wikipedia can be edited, meaning anyone can share knowledge with the world. | All ages. |
EXPLORATION
| Site Name | URL | Idea | Ages |
| Google Maps | google.com/maps | Show them an interesting place in the world using ‘Earth’ (satellite) view, like a volcano or a place you are going on holiday. Then use ‘Street View’ to “walk around” the location. | All ages. |
VIDEOS
| Site Name | URL | Idea | Ages |
| Vimeo | vimeo.com | Whilst YouTube is full of everything and anything, Vimeo is a site for 'film makers'. Here you will find lots of short films animation shorts to full cast short movies. Check out the 'Staff Picks' section for the best bits: vimeo.com/channels/staffpicks | 8+ |
| Red Bull TV | redbull.tv | Check out the 'Featured Shows' section: www.redbull.tv/shows Surfing, skateboarding, gymnastics, flying, cycling, cliff diving... They are all here with some of the best footage you will see. | 8+ |
FUN & GAMES
| Site Name | URL | Idea | Ages |
| National Geographic Kids Games | kids.national geographic.com | Select the 'Games' menu and play a couple of games together for free. Ones in the ‘Recommended Content’ section are usually the best. | 7-12 |
| PBS Kids | pbskids.org | Various games to choose from that are free to play. Videos section only available in the U.S. though. | 5-8 |
| CBBC | www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc /games | Various games and quizzes to choose from. All can be played for free. | All ages. |
