Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

When I think of a positive example of effects of research on children and families I think about an incident that came about in one of my afterschool childcare centers almost two years ago. A young girl in my program would continually talk about her facebook profile and all the people she would meet on the Internet. I was dumbfounded that her parents would allow her to access the worldwide web without supervision, especially since she was only ten years old. I tried to discuss the dangers of the Internet with my children in my program, but didn’t have much to go on so we researched the topic and found lots of information. We found ways to address the topic to the children and activities to present to the group. We also found resources to present to parents and ways to help them protect their children. My staff and I decided not only to lead a discussion on this topic in out afterschool program, but to open it up to the parents. We had a family night where we had dinner and got to know each other more and also presented the research information that we learned to the parents and sent home articles and resources to parents as well. After addressing this in my program, the young girl mentioned that she was no longer able to freely search the Internet. We like to think that our research and addressing the issue head on helped to limit her access and possible save her childhood a bit.
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5 comments:

  1. TheartofchildhoodMay 19, 2012 at 10:24 PM

    Hi Hope,

    your story is true, that nowadays we need moire research on how children interact in online world, the danger of internet and the parental involvement and knowledge about it.

    It is truly the new topic of research in early childhood field in this rapidly changing world, especially on how human communicate and having the social interaction trough the internet.

    Very interesting!

    Evita Kartikasari

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  2. Sarah Wilson HydeMay 20, 2012 at 5:39 AM

    I think your story is amazing and I commend you for taking the situation into your own hands. Sometimes it's tough to find a way to approach the parents without offending them, and I think the fact that you turned the issue into an informational session that would benefit several families was brilliant. I am happy to hear the young girl is no longer able to search the web. Great work!

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  3. TamiekaMay 20, 2012 at 9:32 AM

    Hello Hope

    The dangers of facebook and internet access to your children are topics that need to be addressed. I am amazed at the young children who are on the Internet, some with or without their parents permission. I think that its good that your center did research on this topic, because in reality their are child predators and people in general who do not mind causing harm to young children.

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  4. ericamhinesMay 20, 2012 at 6:49 PM

    Hi Hope,

    THis is a very good subject. Children do not really realize how dangerous it is to meet people on the internet. We need to spread this information to all. THanks for sharing.

    Erica Hines

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  5. sandra mcnairJune 3, 2012 at 9:26 PM

    Hope,
    Job well done. It was great that you picked up a very sensitive topic. You may have save a child's life. The way you got the parents together was a great idea. If you tell them there is food, they usually will come.
    I will put this in my resources bag to use soon.
    Sandra

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