Lately, we are hearing many discussions about if MySpace is a bad or a good thing. Some people is going hysterical about the safety of our children, and about the sexual predators that can be hidden in MySpace, waiting for the moment to damage our kids forever. Well, that horrible thing obviously can happen. Our teens can find a sexual predator as a friend in MySpace, chat with him or her and end seriously hurt. Some disgusting people can send them sexually explicit pages, and solicit them. Yes, all that can happen. But I ask, where are we, worried parents, while this is happening?
Like in many other aspects of the right parenthood work, the secret is to be involved in our children's lives. Of course, Internet can present danger for the kids. As many other things that are wrongly used, as TV or computers in general. But if we seriously pay attention and know what is going on in our children's lives, the damaged always will be much less. It is good that our kids use the modern technology. Internet is a huge tool for their education, a constant source of information, for homework and study in general. And we don't want our children growing apart of the technological advances, that is wrong and harmful for them.
A healthy child with a normal social life, will use a “friend's network” as MySpace as another tool to meet people and have fun, but MySpace wil never take the place of personal and normal relationships. If your kid is all day playing video games or watching TV, webs like MySpace can be a way to substitute real friends, but it is clear that this child has already a socialization problem, and it is your job as a parent to see what is going on, and prevent and fix the problem. Parents also must control their children activities in Internet, that does not mean you have to spy them, that is taking care of and prevent problems. You must install in the computer the right blockers, so the solicitors can't access to your kids. And you must check what your children are doing in the computer, where are they going and who are they talking to.
Open yourself a profile in MySpace, this is a good way to see what your kids are up to; access to their profiles and keep an eye on them. Make sure that your children have normal social lives, that they go out with friends and they do activities with people. And, as a parent, it is your responsibility to talk to your kids about everything, and try do not judge them or criticize them furiously when they tell you something you don't like; be smart, because if you are too sharp with them, they won't confide in you anymore, and communication is essential in successful parenthood.
Try to do not see only negative things, and look at Internet and MySpace as other tools for the technological development or your children.
Be involved in their lives and prevent the damages. Do not punish the tool, do punish the wrongful use of the tool. Everything can be dangerous if is not controlled and not used in an intelligent way. It will be good if we stop looking at the world in a black and white perspective, because nothing is really bad or good, different colors make our environment richer and more complex.
