PARENTS MUST BE ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN CHILDREN’S INTERNET ACTIVITIES - PM'S WIFE

KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 (Bernama) -- Parents need to be actively involved in
their children's Internet activities to ensure that they benefit from the wealth
of information it has to offer without being exposed to any potential dangers,
said the Malaysian Prime Minister's wife, Rosmah Mansor.

She said as parents of digital natives -- children born during or after the
introduction of digital technology -- they must allow their children to
participate in the cyber world with certain precautions.

"Children need their parents' guidance to stay safe online. As a mother, I
believe that all of us can apply the same parenting skills we use in our
everyday lives to teach them how to do that," she said when opening the Smart
Kids 2011, Malaysia's largest Kids' Education Fair, at the Putra World Trade
Centre here on Friday.

Rosmah said in order to be effective cyber teachers, parents must first be
Internet savvy to understand how the cyber world works.

"I believe career parents may have no problems in this area, but parents who
have no access to the Internet must take efforts to seek out that information to
understand it better," she said.


She said parents could use the knowledge to teach children about safe
Internet use through regular supervision and monitoring of their cyber use.

This, according to Rosmah, could be achieved by spending time in going
online together, placing the computer in a common family area, setting up time
limits and deciding what material was off limits.

"Parents and guardians could also use special software and tools to help
protect their children online," she added.

She said nurturing children in understanding the cyber world, as well as
using it responsibly was critical to ensuring that they would continue to
benefit from the technology safely.

At the event, Rosmah presented the 3rd Young Malaysian Outstanding
Achievement Award 2011 to three recipients namely Loke Sue-Yi for the Creative
Expression Award, and to Izzah Azman and Aneeta Lingam for the Sport Achievement
Award.