What in the World Are Your Kids Doing Online?

Educators Melton and Shankle offer a reasonable, nonalarmist guide for concerned parents in helping their kids navigate the wonders and perils of the cyberworld. The authors downplay the dangers of Internet predators (the statistics are actually low), while they emphasize the importance of establishing a healthy balance of virtual and real-time activities for growing kids. Cellphones, instant text messaging, online surfing (Web sites, chat rooms, blogs) and dating aren’t going to go away, and the authors give a crash course in what children are bombarded with daily, in school and elsewhere. Establishing an honor system with kids is crucial: “Keep the lines of communication open” is an often repeated dictum. The authors consider the cyberworld from the perspectives of both kids (establishing e-mail etiquette and coping with bullying, for example) and adults (inserting filters and monitors), but most helpful is the section on how intensive engagement with the cyberworld affects a child’s development, from early youth to the teen years. The authors do sing the benefits of using the Internet for research and global communication, especially for special-needs kids; however, they convincingly stress moderation and firm parental involvement. (Aug.)