GUEST POST

The Clarion-Ledger had an article on the dangers of not monitoring what your kid's gadgets can download and view from the internet. Many of the little gizmos that kids have found under the tree this past Christmas, are Internet ready -- such as the iPod, Playstation Mobile, and many more. As of today, these things have little or no filtering of content, and although that will surely come, what can one do now?

I'd say that the discussion is somewhat useless. Kids always have, and always will, get access to things they should not see, they will inevitably do things they should not do, or hear things that they should not hear. The problem is not with the gadgets -- they are good things. I'd say that much of the problem lies on the shoulders of the parents of these kids. The parents must see the right way -- and the wrong way -- for their children to use the technology, and know how to guide them in the right direction.

It's difficult to control what the children see and do all the time -- if not impossible, and instead of banning things, making new laws and regulations, we must ensure that the children are fit and capable of judging for themselves what is good and what is not, what is beneficial for them and what is not.

I understand as well as anyone that one can't leave this totally up to the kids themselves, but I feel that unless we give our children the tools, so to speak, to decipher the moral value, and the informational value of the things that are available to them, they will be unable to correctly do so as adults as well.

It's our responsibility that they become responsible, if you get my drift.

Contributed by Gunnar Sommerfeldt