Our old friend the Internet

I might be addicted to the internet. I check my email many times a day. I have a virtual pet that I log on enough to collect points and food for each day. I don't subscribe to a paper because it takes me too long to read the articles I want to when I can browse the entire paper in an instant online. I'm more likely to email you than I am to call you.

That said, I must confess I am also sick of the people who think their children are geniuses because they can navigate various networking sites and the schools must be wrong for not passing them to the next grade. You child is not a genius and must learn how to correctly add and subtract. I am sorry. I also don't think it is a priority for you or your child to check your networking account to see how many people think you are hot.

One parent came in and told us that the school had given out a list of codes that kids are using (ie...P911 meaning parents are coming). These websites are not evil. Evil people use them and try to hurt kids (which is one reason some of them are blocked at the libraries and schools). I think it is wrong to sue these companies because it is not their job to protect your child. If your child is using these codes you do need to be aware of it and what they mean.

Rules for using networking sites....

**Do the math...If you are going to say you are 18, don't post that your birthday is in 1986 or 1991. Anyone with a brain can figure out that you are either lying about your age or birthdate. In the case of one person I know, she lied about both and then posted her real age in her blog.

**Don't post your phone number. You are smart enough to use the internet, be smart and don't give out your real information.

**The more items (songs, pictures, etc...) you post on your site, the longer it will take to load your page. Hitting refresh 8 times will not make it load any faster. The computer has not frozen it just needs time to process all of the information it's trying to load.

Some Rules for Parents
**If you are worried about what your child is looking up, don't let them have a computer in a place where you cannot see it.

**You are the parent. Set rules, place filters, etc... on your computer so you kids can't access the websites you don't want them to see.

**If you are worried about what they are seeing at the library, come in with them and sit back there with them. It is YOUR JOB to protect YOUR kids. Not all parents feel the same about what children should be allowed to view so you need to be responsible for you children no matter where they are.