chat rooms for kids only
Chat Rooms for Kids Only
The Internet is the most welcoming place you can find, because it welcomes absolutely anybody. This is especially the case with chat rooms today; unchecked chat room sites are loaded with miscreants of a socially unacceptable level.
Chat rooms are a social facility that is provided by numerous websites on the Internet. They allow us to easily share views and ideas, which is a lot of fun. It is now, really simple to discover various cultures and beliefs of different groups of people around the globe within chat rooms. The chat rooms are categorized and can be used depending on factors such as the topic of chat, gender, and age groups. There are several chat groups available for all sorts of people.
Chat Rooms for Kids
The Internet can be one of the most powerful tool in one's hand, if used right that is. Kids can learn a lot here, but there has to be a certain amount of control from both the parent and the child. The parent needs to uphold a specific level of surveillance over their kids, while the children need to be taught a few guidelines on how to go about the chat rooms.
There are also some advantages of children communicating via chat. Since chat rooms have people from all around the globe, it is therefore simpler for kids to elude tribalism and racism. This would really be useful while growing up. Children will think that the world as a common platform where anyone can communicate with anybody, at any time. Moreover, good chat rooms are a way to make intercontinental and inter-regional friendships, which can make the world a friendlier place to live in.
Like I said, there aren't too many names to put on the list. The first two are the only ones you can be sure of when it comes to security and control. The rest are still worth a shot, but I advise you to keep a close control over their usage. These sites are mostly free to use, with a few exceptions where you might have to pay for added features.
- AOL Kids
- Nickelodeon chat rooms/message boards
- Dizzywood (a virtual RPG meant for kids between 8 - 14)
- CBBC Chat rooms for kids
- Whyville
- Clubpenguin
Effects of Chat Rooms on Kids
It is very crucial for a parent or a guardian to provide necessary counseling to kids relating to the kind of chat mates they communicate with.
- Parents need to take proper care with this aspect, as the web is an easy medium for child molesters and the likes. There are many people who pretend to be children for the purpose of polluting the minds of young children with inappropriate subjects.
- Guardians need to understand that children who experience such sorts of misfortune would be impacted psychologically. This may have an adverse effect on the child's mental growth and development.
- Ensure that chat rooms for kids which are used for interaction are moderated. There aren't too many of these, but a good search will find them out. Such sites don't have a huge user database, so the moderators can keep a close watch over the users and make sure they are all approved for the site.
Tips for Parents and Guardians
The best method of keeping your children safe while chatting online is to allow them to only use moderated chat rooms. These chat rooms are monitored, usually by bots or moderators. Moderators assess the chat rooms, and if anyone chats in an inappropriate manner, his/her chat access to the particular room is blocked.
Parents need to monitor each website or chat room that is used by kids, even if the sites claim to have chat rooms for kids only. Chatting on social networking sites is relatively safer, because there you get added security options, and you can easily see who's on the other side.- If you are thinking of chat rooms just for kids, you need to search for websites that are genuine and reputed.
- Rather than using a chat room hosted by some obscure website, make sure that your child uses chat rooms run by major websites.
- Make sure that the PC is kept in the sitting room or in the kitchen, so as to keep an eye on what is displayed on the computer monitor.
- As a guardian, you should take time out of your everyday routine and check the browser bookmarks and chat logs.
- Use a pseudonym for opening your child's account, and ensure that the real name is not exposed to strangers online.
- Search for specialized chat rooms about subjects which your child savors; like painting, drawing, sports, travel, etc.