h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

When I'm raising my children I'm conscious of the fact that they have their own personalities - they're not there for me to force my will on them or turn them into Mini-Mes!!!!

That said, I try to encourage respect for others, and property, and feelings, and self.

I try to get them to think independently, to make up their own minds, and to be able to justify their position on something.

When they DO misbehave (as all children do, it's in their job description) I'll concentrate more on why they acted that way, rather than focussing on the punishment (there will be punishment, but I don't believe they learn appropriate behaviour just by fear of what might happen if they dont behave).

I cannot wrap them in cotton wool and hide them from the influences of the world, whether those be good or bad. So TV is not banned (although we'll talk about how The Simpsons is not real). Pop music is not banned (I took my son to see Limp Biskit. Then we continued our ongoing discussion on swearing). The Internet is not banned (but access is only in the main living room , and in my presence).


This is a big subject, I'll probably be back later with more thoughts...

Internet shouldn't be restricted in that way, in my house we have two PC's a really old AMD 500 down stairs and my new gaming machine in my bedroom, Now i want to play online games with all my mates but cant because my dad doesnt want me having the internet in my room. Im 16 so responsiable enough not to meet up with strangers i meet on the net and im just not going to loom at porn all day. I just want it to play on games. Also the only time i really get to post on H2G2 is at college as i am now.
orion

Let's just say I have experience of the internet access being abused.

It is one of the major areas of "trust" these days, isnt it?

Persoanlly if I ever end up with a child, I'll supervise their online access until I feel I can explain to them why they shouldn't give out details or anything and should be naturally wary online. I mean could you explain online paedophilia to a seven year old? But a 13 year old is a different kettle of fish. You don't have to tell them everything but you can explain that people might be lying because they want to hurt you. My philosophy on kids is not to shield them from the harsh realitites of life. We went round a museum recently with an 8yr old in tow and one of the exhibits was all about execution (it was a hanging site in days of yore) and she had questions and I answered them honestly. The truth may seem cruel, but the truth always hurts less then the discovery of the lie later.

I approve of supervised net access for youngsters. They learn by example, so seeing internet activity as a social part of family life, rather than a solo experience can do nothing but good. And that's without even thinking of the sorts of abuses that can happen once kids are actually online.