Dear Parent,
This is Safer Internet Day. It is a good opportunity to remind you about the dangers of children misusing the internet and indeed the serious impacts of social media on children’s mental health and wellbeing. We all have a responsibility to teach the children about the benefits of the internet but also to alert them towards its dangers. Nowadays, children can access information at their fingertips. When I was a child I had to rely on asking other people, using a library, researching guide books or indeed researching the encyclopaedias. It would have been wonderful to have been able to research information in the quick accessible ways we now have.
Indeed, with all these positives, there are so many potential drawbacks. I believe it is up to us as parents and teachers to teach the children how to properly use the internet. It ultimately should be there as a learning tool to expand the children’s knowledge base for science, history, literature etc. If it is to be used as a communication tool, this is where difficulties arise.
I wish also to draw your attention to ‘other devices’. We are finding that more and more children are coming to school with watches etc. which are connected to the internet and they also have cameras/recording devices attached. Please do not let your child take these devices to school. Apart from the obvious internet dangers; they become a distraction and there is no need for them in a primary school.
Increasingly, schools are having to deal with the fallout from children misusing social media sites at home. Inevitably, negative comments are said/written that perhaps would not otherwise be said/written and it ends up having to be resolved in school. If you do allow your child to have phones/devices and to access these sites, please be aware of the conversations that your child is experiencing.
All of the above dangers and difficulties are causing a lot of added distress to the children. I do not believe that it is benefitting them sufficiently. The children’s usage of the social media aspect can be dangerous, difficult for you to patrol and again the school ends up having to repair the damaged relationships.
Please support me with this as it is for the good of all the children.
My Very Best Wishes,
Ms. O’Neill.
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