Cyberslackers

 

Parents encouraged to learn more about IT.

A new report has stated that parents are lacking in IT skills and should improve to help their children.

The Byron Review, an independent evaluation commissioned by Gordon Brown to assess the risks the internet and video games can have on children, highlighted the need for parents to have greater IT skills, particularly for those from socially or finally disadvantaged backgrounds.

UK Online Centres, which runs a series of computer support services across the country, found that three quarters of parents from lower socio-economic groups know that their children used the internet but 50 per cent could not help or supervise them.

Dr Tanya Brown

The report, spearheaded by Dr Tanya Byron, a clinical psychologist and mother of two, set out a plan to address the issue.

“The internet and video games are now very much a part of growing up and offer unprecedented opportunities to learn, develop and have fun. However, with new opportunities come potential risks. My recommendations will help children and young people make the most of what all digital and interactive technologies can offer, while enabling them and their parents to navigate all these new media waters safely and with the knowledge that more is being done by government and the internet and video game industries to help and support them,” she said.

Read the full report here.

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