Hey Parents, Get With the (Computer) Program

In the early 1900s, parents worried that their children knew more about automobiles than they did. In the 1920s and ‘30s, they were concerned about the radio and whether its programs were too violent. Now, many parents are trying to play catch-up with the ever-shifting world of cyberspace--both the technology and the content.

Parents are well aware their kids are already involved and will need information skills for the future, said Wendy Lazarus, co-director of the Children’s Partnership, publisher of “The Parents’ Guide to the Information Superhighway: Rules and Tools for Families Online.”

An estimated 4 million children between 2 and 18 are online, and their ranks are expected to quadruple by 2000.

More than half of new jobs now require some form of technology literacy, and workers with computer skills are already earning up to 15% more than workers without those skills.

Parents “have a hunch that they’ve got some different kind of responsibilities,” Lazarus said. “They want to figure out what they are.”

The guide, developed in conjunction with the National PTA and the National Urban League, offers strategies for children in different age groups, as well as an action sheet for political involvement to ensure the new technologies benefit all young people.

When their children are 2 to 3, parents can start by introducing them to the keyboard and showing them how a mouse works.

At 4 to 7, children can begin exploring online sections with parents. Parents need to monitor e-mail by sharing an address and explain proper behavior and rules.

Children 8 to 11 can begin to have pen pals from around the world, and they begin to be targets of programmers and advertisers. This is a good time to introduce media literacy skills--understanding how advertising works--and teach them not to place orders or give out personal information.

Between 12 and 14, young people can access sophisticated research resources and chat with experts or other teenagers in specialized sections. Parents and teens need to be highway smart in not taking everything for the truth. What’s more, despite some chat group claims to protect anonymity, it is always possible for someone with the right tools to find out your phone line and ultimately who you are.

The guide also explains laws that teens should know regarding copyright, distribution of software, privacy, hacking and obscenity. They need to know who to call if they are harassed. Time limits need to be enforced.

After age 15, teens are probably ready to help other family members with research projects, or volunteer to teach their skills to younger children in the community.

Lazarus said this is also a crucial time for parents to get involved on a larger scale if they want the information superhighway to be more than home shopping and video games.

They can lobby commercial companies for safe areas on the Internet, blocking devices or appropriate use policies--contracts young people sign when they use computers at school or in community centers.

Parents might also get involved at school, helping acquire equipment or training.

Concerned parents can also contact the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, D.C. That agency will soon be deciding how advanced telecommunication services will be made available to schools, libraries and rural health clinics. What the commission does and whether it will be affordable will be shaped by local public officials and demands from consumers and parents, Lazarus said.

Many people believe that if more parents had become involved in the 1940s and ‘50s, when television policies were being created, children’s programming would be much better than it is today, she said.

Copies of the guide, at $8 each, may be obtained by writing for Parents’ Guide, 1460 4th St., Suite 306, Santa Monica CA 90401. More information is also available on The Children’s Partnership Web site, https://www.childrenspartnership.org.

* Lynn Smith’s column appears on Sundays. Readers may write to her at the Los Angeles Times, Life & Style, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053 or via e-mail at lynn.smith@latimes.com. Please include a telephone number.