PARENTING 201: CONTENT CONTROL

How much control do you have over the information your child consumes? Ranging from the internet sources, magazines, friend talks and many more. The parental control button on your remote or control software on the system is void if you do not have information control installed into your child’s mind-set. The problem is not access but rather what. The best way is to train the child on what information is good and bad so that they can select for themselves at an early stage rather that control what reaches them. Take a scenario where your 13 year old child has a phone or a laptop with internet access, obviously as a parent/guardian, you have locked all the irrelevant sites but on the outside this kid has friends (with phones) who have unlimited access and every time they meet they expose him to the material that you locked in your house.
When we were young our parents taught us that every woman the age of our mother is your mum and likewise for the male, growing up with this values made us grow up with respect and to this day the respect is still the same for all women. As a parenting technique, parents and guardians should begin as early as the children begins talking so that this values are installed in the mind of the child and they will be the controllers of what info is good or bad. This brings me to the best tool of content control ‘the mind’.
Then how do you shape your child’s mind? During the child’s development, they undergo several milestones of growth, both physical, emotional and cognitive developments. At age 3-5years the child is growing emotionally, being able to form friendship with fellow children, and relationship to grownups. They also, at this stage, develop language and ways of expression. This is a good age to train your child on the desired language, mode of expression and values (standards) of what is good or bad. For example, you let your child know that they should say ‘thank you’ whenever they are given something and sharing with others or sexual matters have an appropriate age of engagement.
Though they may be at an explorative age from 7yrs and parents should talk to them about the information they take in matters relating to sexual information and awareness. At this age they may have begun exploring their genitals and also be exposed to sexual content. Explaining to children about their bodies and steps to take to avoid getting the wrong information is an effective way to take charge of their mind-set which will in turn shape their behaviour. The same goes for freedom good for child development.
Considering the technological advancements and access of information, it may be hard to control the outside (environment) and thus the focus should be instilling this values and principles in the young mind as early as possible and then you can install the parental control software and the parental control button. Taking care of the cognitive part which controls the behavioural system.