NET SURFING is about to become quite uncool. Parents are getting in on the act in their quest for advice on coping with their adolescents. They have discovered that the Internet covers just about everything from toilet training to choosing the right school.
Angela Canavan is the co ordinator of information services at the National Children's Resource Centre. "We use it all the time," she says, "especially when parents ring us in looking for information on unusual conditions on which we may, not have a lot of information in our library.
There is also lots of information on more common queries such as bullying, says Canavan. "Recently we had a parent asking about premature babies and there was a particularly good site with detailed information you wouldn't find in the books we have here. There was an invitation to write with further queries to the doctor at the particular hospital which had put up the information. That kind of support is very common on the Internet."
Aoife Geraghty, of the National Parents Council Primary Resource Centre in Dublin, uses the Internet to help parents with enquiries. "We use it to refer parents on to various parental support groups and for issues which can be hard to get information on," she says. "I had an enquiry from someone who was doing research on death education recently. In the States children are taught about issues surrounding death at school, so there was a stack of information on the Internet from American researchers."
According to Canavan, net surfing is not too common among Irish parents but this seems set to change very soon. "The Internet is the present of the year this Christmas," says Sean Moroney of Indigo, "and Santa Claus is bringing it to all the family."
Parents with no computer at home can try the ILAC Centre Library if they live near Dublin city. They may be able to use a school computer. There are also the new cyber cafes.
"You can get all sorts of family information on the Internet," says Moroney. "It's an invaluable source of parenting information. Universities all over the world have websites with the latest research on various subjects and increasingly Irish organisations such as the Higher Education Authority are going on line."
Typically, Irish organisations have information regarding what they do and how to contact them. Both the National Children's Resource Centre and the National Parents Council have home pages on the Internet.
"We have information about the organisation, opening hours of the resource centre, new books of interest available here and up coming events we're organising," says Geraghty. "We will also have information on particular topics parents frequently ask about."
To Canavan the Internet is "brilliant." It gives privacy for parents who have a difficulty which they would not discuss with anyone.
However, parents should be aware of its limitations, she cautions. "The main problem is that there is no control over the information. When it comes to a controversial issue, parents should know exactly where the information is coming from, and what sort of agenda might be behind it." In general, says Canavan, it's wise to stick to well known organisations who have a good reputation.
The National Children's Resource Centre is compiling a list of websites which they find reliable so that parents can avoid dubious advice. Once people understand the downside, says Angela Canavan, it's a wonderful resource for parents.
