Under The Sun

5 Steps to Keep Your Kids Safe on the Web

#1: don’t put the PC in the kid’s room…

Can your family go a week without computers? August 1st to the 7th is PC-Turnoff Week: Once per year, PC-TOO encourages families to turn off their family computer for a week in the summer. Instead of using the computer, use the time for healthy activities such as reading, exercise, play, or family time.

more from the Researching The Bleeding Obvious department…

Children of permissive parents more likely to use ecstasy when older

Children of permissive and indulgent parents are more likely to end up as ecstasy users when adults than those from stricter backgrounds. Allowing teenagers more freedom may be storing up problems for them in the future, the study presented at the opening day of the annual conference of the British Pyschological Society in Manchester found. Drugs charities and psychologists said the study questioned whether liberal parenting techniques were in fact the best model for steering young people away from drugs.

The research categorised parenting styles as “Authoritarian”, “Authoritative”, “Indulgent” and “Neglectful”. Authoritive parents who showed their children a lot of love and warmth but also had strict controls on what they were allowed to do and where they could go were least likely to have children who turned to drug abuse.

EducationGuardian.co.uk: Pupils ‘do worse with computers’

This may reflect the fact that computers at home may actually distract students from learning, both because learning with computers may not be the most efficient way of learning and because computers can be used for other aims than learning.

Son: “Do we have anything long and metallic, that I can use in an electricity project?”
Me: “How about a 12 inch steel ruler?”
Son: “How long is it?”
Me: “300 millimeters”
Son: “That would be perfect!”