Internet and cyber wellness for children as a healthy life style choice is increasingly important nowadays, especially for parents and adult guardians. As children of fast growing technological era with the internet around the corner, they need to be guided along the way to the healthy and beneficial use of the internet and whatever gadgets that have connectivity to the internet and cyber world.
Nowadays, children as young as two are already exposed to the internet world, mainly online gaming activities, and the social media network. In fact, this phase of young age is at a critical developmental stage in the course of human development. Over exposing young children to unnecessary internet contents and peculiar cyber world environment could be very detrimental to their mental, emotional, physical and social development and wellbeing. Any children, at whatever age they are, should not be left alone without good and proper adult guardian or parental monitoring and supervision, where internet activity is concerned. Furthermore, the characteristic nature of child development requires that all children need to be protected against harmful and detrimental environmental factors and effects, including unhealthy internet contents and behaviour.
As far as the internet wellness is concerned, it posits that the internet users are aware of the positive wellbeing of online behaviour, understand the principles of progressive and productive online activity, and at the same time, be respectful to views, opinion and rights of other online users. At the end, this leads to the overall and general wellbeing of human relationships and life, and thus, creates the awareness of promoting internet wellness as a healthy lifestyle practice to everyone, including children. But how is it done? Do children of this age understand about the principles and procedures of cyber and internet wellness themselves? Ultimately, they don’t! Therefore, the practice of good and positive internet activity and behaviour must come from the family members, mainly parents.
It is a matter of fact that children adopting new knowledge, behaviour and skills through imitation, modelling and social learning from their parents and the environment. Similarly, this is the mechanism of action, that the inculcation of good and positive internet behaviour and wellbeing transfers itself from their parents. Therefore, it is incumbent upon parents, and their responsibility to understand it themselves and then teach their children the ways to create and promote internet wellbeing at home. Firstly, parents should understand that letting their children online poses some risks and benefits and this requires the parents to weigh the decisions and value situation wisely and wittingly.
Parents should think about the right and suitable internet activity for their children, prioritize it and allow it with a certain set of agreed rules, as well as allocate specified allowable time limitation for their children to indulge on it. This kind of operating procedures by the parents at home will teach their children that internet use is something important and indispensable, and sometimes might be urgent, and yet, the use of it should be done kindly and monitored wisely and with care. This situation also teaches the young children about values and understanding that internet use is nothing but full of stringent rules and laws, and everyone must abide by the rules and ethics when using it.
Besides, this will also activate the young minds about the right and precise selection of proper internet activity for them. At the same time, this also teaches them about the high value of time and proper time management very early on in their life. In order to cultivate self-discipline of good time management in their children, the parents should then ensure that their children are always compliant with the time management rules and schedules. Understand the time limit and prepare them for at least within an hour of internet activities are enough for them. Anything beyond the limit is believed to be damaging for this age group as the existing understanding is that, internet activities such as gaming is nothing more than a form of sedentary life style activities, that is really unhealthy to the young children and hinder their healthy development and growth physically, psychologically and socially. Imposing time limit is something which is preventive in nature, since it prevents and minimises the risks of internet or gaming addiction, repetitive stress injuries to the eyes, finger and hands as due to longer period of stagnant position, and stress intolerance.
As the children of this age are still developing in nature, the parents have to ensure that they must be able to provide relevant environmental supports and proper developmental stimulations to their children’s growth mentally and cognitively, especially when it comes to internet and cyber world activities. As many of the internet contents are considered well enough for the young minds to develop positively, it therefore becomes the responsibility of the parents to learn, decide and determine the most suitable software for them. Don’t let the children choose it themselves, but tailor it carefully so that the young minds can gain full benefits out of it, helps develop the young minds accordingly and properly, and strengthen the young mind’s reasoning abilities in order to prevent the occurrence of inability to differentiate between reality and illusion or imagination and other cognitive weaknesses and difficulties among children.
The true gist of teaching and promoting internet and cyber wellness as healthy life style choice for children originates from the understanding of promoting goodness and avoiding harmfulness. This objective is hardly attainable unless Muslim society is truly prepared and get ready to be moderate, modest and balanced in their living environment and behaviour. Thus, let us practice and live life with modesty. As Islam itself has been promoting moderation in life, as mentioned in the Quran, surah al Furqan, verse 67, which means… They are those who, when they spend, are neither extravagant nor miserly, but follow a middle way between them.