The Umko website is a kids-friendly web portal that doesn't display any kind of violent or otherwise inappropriate material. We promote a safe, entertaining and educational environment for children.
Nevertheless, we feel it's important that we inform parents about certain issues that might arise during your child's use of the Internet in general, and at the same time we hope to give you some advice as to how to make it possible for your child to spend their free time in a quality online environment.
The internet has become an electronic mirror of today's reality. Everything that exists in real life can also exist online in one form or another. Besides websites that are meant for children, there are also websites that can have a bad influence on children or can be even harmful. Certain restrictions such as censorship, usually don't have a desired effect because the information spreads very fast. Soon after it's been published, it is virtually impossible to find out the author of a certain website content. Various computer programs for filtering inappropriate content only provide safety of users to a certain degree, but at the same time in a way they also prevent the free flow of information.
Panic and general prohibition of the use of the internet is an inappropriate reaction for parents to protect their children from harmful material. The material on the web is created and used by people, and depends on the responsibility and morals of its creators. The children are those who will shape the future -- also the future of the internet. Our advice would be to give your child a chance to learn how to use modern media in a responsible way, which of course includes the internet.
Don't let your child get lost in the overwhelming amount of information on the net. Instead, motivate them to talk with you about what they found online. Most likely your child will want to talk with you. Take your time and surf the web together, let your child show you what he finds interesting and also what scares or bothers him. If after a while you notice a change or aggression in your child's behavior, it's natural to be worried. This can be a sign that tells you that your child has found a website that makes him confused. Talk with him because anyone who uses the internet is exposed to dangers that mirror those that exist in real world.
Below we would like to give you some practical advice for a child-safe use of the internet:
- A child must never give out their entire personal information, your bank account or credit card number or similar information.
- Talk with your child about rules when surfing the internet. Tell him or her that a stranger in cyberspace can be a totally different person in real life.
- Motivate your child to tell you regularly if they find certain information online that makes them afraid or bothered.
- Set clear time limits on the daily use of the internet. Perhaps you could use a program in your computer that marks the time that was spent online in a day.
We hope our advice gave you some assurance that despite common belief that internet is dangerous for children, it can also be very safe at the same time. Much of it depends on the parents. Be involved with your child!