Telling a tech-savvy child of today’s era not to browse the internet is akin to the parents one generation down telling their kids to close their eyes for certain scenes in a movie or on television. It did not work then. It won’t work now. But that is no excuse for anyone to presume that parental control is totally out of context and that every child should have the freedom to go anywhere in the cyber-world. It is not just about prevention, but more about good parenting and being cautious.

Without any doubts, it is a huge challenge as the task is virtually impossible to monitor at all times, but there is an element of satisfaction in doing and telling your ward what is morally correct. The earlier generation did not stop their offspring from learning to ride a bicycle or going swimming because they may fall or drown. It would have been absurd. In the current scenario too, you would not want to block the internet entirely because you are not certain what is being accessed. The only certainty is that you will never know either.

We realize that this predicament makes it all the more questionable whether there can be any form of parental control for browsing the internet. While accepting that there cannot be absolute control, and that there should not be either, there is a limiting line that can be worked on with the words ‘constraint’ and ‘restrain’. The measures will definitely differ from home to home, depending upon the upbringing philosophy, but the thumb-rule is that excessive control may only lead to a rebellious stance, and spiral much more out of control.

At the same time, if there is too much laxity and flexibility, you may inculcate a ‘negative’ approach in the child. It would also depend on the age, as the teenagers of today could certainly tell their parents a thing or two they never knew, all courtesy the easy access sites and a whole array of information.

But there is some consolation that with InfoTech, new inventions too keep coming into the market and today software are available that can filter and glean the ‘for your eyes only’ sites. With this tool, the parent is creating a visible boundary without actually leaning over the child’s shoulder. However, this would work only within the confines of home and on the child’s personal computer, and will be a temporary deprive even if to ensure that the homework gets done. Well, that too is some bonus. But if parents actually expect that they would be in total control of the situation, and that they would actually be able to exercise total parental control over their child’s tryst with the internet, then think again.

It is virtually impossible, and the ‘virtual’ here is to lay more emphasis on that fact. Come what may; do not let the child feel they have a freedom on the freeway, because that may indirectly spell ‘you don’t care’. Know that the task is daunting. Know that it is impossible. But do it because you are a caring parent.

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