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Alamb

Author/Television Reporter

Amanda Lamb is a professional television journalist and author. She covers murder trials by day and reads Dora the Explorer to her children at night. Somewhere in between all of that she writes about those parenting moments that catch each us off-guard in a crazy, chaotic, and wonderful way. Aman...

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Internet Inertia

Amanda Lamb

My oldest daughter just recently became obsessed with the Internet.  It started with something called Webkinz- a game where you care for an animal online.  The upside- It’s actually a very safe, benign introduction to the Web.  It teaches kids how to navigate from page to page in cyberspace and it also teaches them the responsibility of caring for a pet.  The downside- it can be addicting.  

Now my four-year-old has decided she wants to surf the Net as well.  I allow her to go on “Playhouse Disney” or “PBS Kids.”  Her sister never had any inclination to go online at such a young age, but my little one wants to do everything her big sister does.

Our family computer is in the den, so they are never alone when they are online.  The problem occurs when I tell them it is time to get off.  Not unlike the reaction you get when you tell children to turn off the television, they usually throw a fit.  Other times they are so entrenched in whatever game they are playing that they totally ignore me.  This of course annoys me to no end.  

The bottom line is that I want them to learn how to use a computer and be comfortable doing so.  This is critical to their future.  At the same time I have an obligation as a mother to make sure they don’t spend too much time online, especially at the expense of other things like playing outside and reading.

The solution- time limits starting this week.  They won’t like it, but that’s okay.  They’ll thank me someday for helping them break the first of many addictions they are likely to face in their lives...