Parenting the Online Child

Abstract

Children are now living in a multi-media world where the online world in particular has its own unique set of risks, such as cyberbullying, grooming, and invasion of privacy. These online risks bring new parental concerns. This chapter will first discuss theoretical perspectives on categorizing parental mediation of children's Internet use, looking at two different approaches. The focus will then turn to factors which have been found to be associated with the levels and types of strategies used by different parents. The chapter will end by considering how theory and research evidence may be applied to effectively reduce negative online experiences and increase positive aspects of being online. The content of this chapter will focus on parental mediation strategies used among children in middle childhood and adolescence (approximately ages 9 to 18), since this is where the majority of research has been done. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)