West Australian parents appear ignorant about their children's use of the internet and mobile phones and the consequences could be disastrous, a leading teen psychologist warned yesterday.
Michael Carr-Gregg said the results of a recent survey showed a growing gap between what WA parents thought their children were up to and reality.
The survey found almost 40 per cent of WA parents said their children did not use social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, while one in four said their children did not text message.
Dr Carr-Gregg is part of a team of experts who will talk at the Generation Next seminar being held in Perth on Sunday for parents of teenagers.
The survey found WA children were more likely to have computers in their bedrooms than in any other State, which Dr Carr-Gregg said was a big mistake.
The survey found almost 45 per cent of WA parents let children have mobile phones in bedrooms after 10pm, which he labelled "monumentally stupid". "Nothing is going to interfere with sleep more than having kids texting each other under the covers," he said. "Parents need to find their digital spine and start setting limits and boundaries around this, otherwise they may in fact find that their kids pay a very hefty price."
The nationally-weighted survey of almost 530 Australian parents was undertaken by a research company on behalf of Healthed, the organisers of the seminar. Dr Carr-Gregg said parents should always have and enforce a family internet use contract, know their children's password for social networking sites and constantly monitor their children's use of the internet.
"To do anything less than that is manifestly irresponsible . . . all the research shows now that children do take risks online," he said.
He said failure to monitor children's internet usage could potentially result in "disasters" for children's development and for parents financially. He said in some overseas examples, the parents of students who slandered teachers on Facebook were being sued.
"Now we're not as litigious as the United States are at the moment but watch this space," Dr Carr-Gregg said.
Psychologist warns parents to monitor internet and phone use
JESSICA STRUTT, The West Australian
November 4, 2009, 2:25 am
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1 Comment
As parents of three teenage girls (yes - that's not a typing mistake!!) we are fully aware of the effect that mobile phones and the Internet can have on our children. We probably have a lot more insight into what teenagers get up to online than most parents would dare to know. As such we have only one "MSN" computer in a communal area of the house. We sign onto the computer for them and limit their MSN time to 30 minutes. Parental control software is a must, as is antivirus software and parental vigilance for general internet use! Taking mobile phones away at 10pm is probably a good idea. I must admit we have seen them texting late at night under the covers, but as parents we also need to give them a bit of latitude in their social lives, so it's something we are aware of. Computers in bedrooms are a no-no! We know all of their passwords and we make sure they have computer User Accounts WITHOUT Administrator Privileges. Don't get me wrong - our kids are extremely well-behaved, are very responsible teenagers, and we trust them, but there's a heck of a lot more external influences in their lives these days than when we were kids. If 40 percent of WA parents believe their kids aren't using social networking sites, then I would say that 40 percent of parents need to check what their kids are up to online! Advice to all parents - if your kids have a mobile phone or access to the Internet then they WILL be using it in their social lives to some extent. As parents we try to get the balance right between giving teenagers the freedom they need and deserve in their lives, whilst at the same time protecting them from negatives associated with today's technology. But most of all... We love our kids, and we always want the best for them - even if they don't see it that way at times, but that's a teenager for you!!