Time spent working with computers can have a positive effect on children. Many games demand strategic thinking and skill. Online communities can also help children learn to report on their experiences, reports the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), a German health insurer.
"Nobody should demonise computers categorically," says TK psychologist York Scheller. "Yet children in particular need to have responsible interaction with the media," he says.
Parents should observe what their children do on the computer and monitor how long they spend in front of the machine. The problems start when the children become too attached to the computer and no longer go outside, meet friends, or play sports. Scheller also recommends that parents mind how and when their children use the PC. "Some games are tremendously addictive and not everything you can find on the Internet is good for kids," he notes.
He recommends that parents set rules with the children about what they can do on the computer and for how long. Primary school children should only be allowed on the Internet with supervision anyway. Children also need to learn how to be careful with their own data.
A Forsa survey commissioned by the Techniker Krankenkasse determined that 40 percent of primary school children spend at least 30 minutes per day on the computer. One in five children aged six to 18 sits for more than an hour in front of the PC.
Eight percent of all survey parents reported that their children spent more than two hours per day in front of the PC. Only one in five children didn't use the computer at all.
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