How to limit child exposure to Internet vice

• Educate children on how to use the Internet positively and to never give personal information such as contact details, parents’ work details or the name and location of their school without parents’ consent.
• Check with your service provider for age-appropriate parental control devices.
• Bookmark websites that are child friendly and seek help from Internet providers on how to block other unfriendly sites.
• Know children’s friends and who they interact with while online.
• Teach children about the dangers of accepting someone they don’t know in social networks and chat rooms and never to reply to a suspicious looking email or click on a web link contained in one.

Last year, the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) prepared a fact sheet on child safety and internet use, advising parents on steps they should take to protect their children while online.

CCK brought to the fore some of the risks that children may encounter while online such as striking a relationship with grown-ups, who they belief are their age mates.

“If your child tells you about an upsetting message, person, or website, do not blame the child but help him avoid problems in future. Remember, how you respond will determine whether they confide in you the next time they encounter a problem and how they learn to deal with problems on their own,” says the CCK fact sheet.

Downloads of pornographic material by young Kenyans seems to be increasing.

In 2004 an Internet café in Nairobi reported that 12 out of every 20 downloads from a particular server constituted pornography, with most of the computer users being children and young people.

In the US, nearly 50 per cent of all children have access to the Internet at home.

One in five children aged eight has a computer in their own bedroom.

This may be replicated in Kenya in the near future — what with the rapid Internet penetration into homes.

While it is estimated that over 24 million children are online globally, and the number is expected to grow especially in Africa, there are no official statistics in Kenya to show the kind of sites young people visit or the level of abuse encountered online.

“We do not have any statistics that can show the number of children online at any particular day yet, but the number is not big. We do not have to worry at the moment,” said Mr Bitange Ndemo, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communication.

CCK says parents should ensure that their children are safe online.

CCK caution

They should also keep informed about what sites the children visit and the people they interact with.

However, CCK cautions that this should not lead parents to stop their children from accessing the internet.

“The fact that crimes are being committed online is not a reason to stop children from using the internet for it would be like telling them to forgo school because students are sometimes victimised or bullied there,” notes CCK in its consumer guide on internet safety of children.