On 9 Mar 2007 06:07:20 -0800, "bobandcarole~"
<bobandcarole007@hotmail.com> wrote:
>On Mar 9, 9:05?am, 4s00th <4s0...@thetruth.com> wrote:
>> On 9 Mar 2007 05:36:31 -0800, "bob&carole"
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> <bobandcarol...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> >If you have children and you watched any of "Dateline's" "To Catch a
>> >Predator" series, you're scared. ou have to be.
nd you have to
>> >wonder: Could this happen to my kids?
>>
>> >Well, there's one piece of advice everyone gives parents to keep their
>> >children safe from predators and all the other scary parts of the
>> >Internet -- keep the computer out of the bedroom. he advice is so
>> >common, it's now trite.
>>
>> >It might also be the most commonly ignored advice in parenting today.
>> >According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, twice as many kids have
>> >computers in their bedrooms today as did five years ago.
>>
>> >Forget the bedtime story. These days, many kids go to bed, pull up the
>> >covers and just start chatting with friends online.
>>
>> >Perhaps that explains why so many kids are so sleepy in school these
>> >days. ard figures are hard to come by, but both parents and teachers
>> >will tell anyone who'll listen that classrooms are full of bleary-eyed
>> >kids who've been up all night text-messaging and e-mailing their
>> >friends.
U.K. researcher recently released a study indicating that
>> >20 percent of children there sleep at least two hours less each night
>> >than their parents, and she blamed computers, games and televisions in
>> >the bedroom.
>>
>> >Unmonitored bedroom Internet access exposes kids to awful people, like
>> >those who showed up at "Dateline's" rented house full of hidden
>> >cameras. But even if you mistakenly believe your child is safe from
>> >predators, a bedroom computer creates another, less dramatic but much
>> >more common problem -- sleep-deprived kids. he U.K. study indicated
>> >that two-thirds of kids are sleep-deprived because of gadgets. And in
>> >preliminary results of research now being conducted by i-Safe America,
>> >22 percent of student-age kids admit they send instant messages while
>> >their parents think they're asleep.
>>
>> >Family therapist Susan Shankle says the problem is now so common she
>> >asks questions about the location of child computers in her initial
>> >client assessment.
>>
>> >"I ask if there are computers in the bedroom, and 'Are you sure your
>> >child is getting enough sleep?" she said. "I always advise parents to
>> >take them out, but often the advice isn't followed. It's a big
>> >problem, and it's only getting bigger."
>>
>> >10 percent of 8- to 10-year-olds have bedroom Internet
>> >Shankle's impressions are borne out by research. he Kaiser Family
>> >Foundation released a study in May indicating that 31 percent of kids
>> >8-18 have a computer in the bedroom, and 20 percent have Internet
>> >access -- double the amount from five years ago. One in 10 children
>> >between 8 and 10 years old now has bedroom Internet access. And 1 in 4
>> >high-school-aged kids uses instant message software in the bedroom.
>>
>> >"It seems to be a trend, and I suspect it will continue," said Vicky
>> >Rideout, a researcher at Kaiser.
>>
>> >Why are parents ignoring the bedroom computer advice, even after
>> >warnings as dire as "Dateline's" predator program's? One reason is
>> >convenience, Rideout said.
>>
>> >"Parents don't want competition for the computer, so they give kids
>> >their own," she said. "That's the main reasons kids have TV in their
>> >rooms, too."
>>
>> >Wireless makes it worse
>> >There was a time when a bedroom computer, disconnected from the
>> >Internet, did not pose this menacing threat.
s long as no one strung
>> >Ethernet cable into the kids' room, there was no way for kids to get
>> >on the Internet and no way for predators to get to the kids.
ut home
>> >wireless networks have exploded in popularity. If you don't have it,
>> >your neighbors probably do.
arring military-grade jamming
>> >technology, there's really no way to keep this floating Internet out
>> >other than keeping the computer out.
>>
>> >Perhaps many parents think they can keep watch over computer use in
>> >the bedroom. Fat chance, says family therapist Barbara Melton. Kids
>> >will go to great lengths to outfox their parents and stay online when
>> >they should be sleeping, she said.
>>
>> >"I knew one 16-year-old who stuffed a towel under the door so his
>> >(parents) couldn't see the light from the computer," she said. "Other
>> >kids dim their monitors.... This might be new to parents, but if you
>> >bring this up with kids, they all know about it."
>>
>> >Staring at a computer is also among the worst things someone can do
>> >before going to bed, Shankle said, because it activates the brain in a
>> >way that makes it harder to fall asleep. he recommended cutting off
>> >computer use at least 30 minutes before bedtime.
>>
>> >Increased restlessness
>> >But that's not happening. hankle thinks the problem is so widespread
>> >that late-night computer use, fed by the addictive quality of the
>> >Internet, might even be contributing to increased diagnosis of
>> >attention deficit disorders, Shankle said.
>>
>> >"Sleep deprivation and too much computer look like ADHD," said
>> >Shankle.
>>
>> >All this late-night Internet use might seem anathema to some adults,
>> >who couldn't imagine staying up all night to type messages to
>> >friends.
ut Sandra Calvert, professor of psychology and director of
>> >the Child Digital Media Center at Georgetown University, said
>> >teenagers' diurnal sleep rhythms are quite different from adults',
>> >meaning they are more alert at night.
edroom Internet access only
>> >fans that flame.
>>
>> >Calvert recommends keeping computers out of the bedroom, but she
>> >thinks it's even more important to teach kids about the potential
>> >pitfalls of being online all the time.
>>
>> >"They're going to have access to technology. If they don't have it,
>> >their friends do. So parents need to educate them and empower them,"
>> >she said.
>>
>> >With handhelds coming, it'll only get harder
>> >That's good advice, given that new technology means the Internet,
>> >increasingly, is not limited to computers anyway. Plenty of cell
>> >phones allow Internet access, video downloads and games. o simply
>> >keeping a computer out of the bedroom will someday soon provide only a
>> >small measure of safety, if any, said Kaiser's Rideout.
>>
>> >"As it all jumps onto handhelds, those rules will be irrelevant," she
>> >said -- making a parent's role in separating the Sandman from the
>> >Internet all the more essential, both to keep kids safe from predators
>> >and to get them ready for school the next day.
>>
>> Gee, bo0by, an intelligent article that makes sense and actually tries
>> to do something positive about stopping children from being molested
>> ... I'd've never thought you capable. Thank you.
>
>You pedos hate it when we plan ahead of you, don't you?
LOL!
4s00th
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