The mainstream media always sensationalizes news stories about child predators and pornography on the internet. They seem to urge parents to closely monitor their kid’s computer activity and put up safeguard software to be especially vigilant. Although I’m not a parent myself, I can understand their biological need to protect their offspring from potential harm – but are we doing so at the cost of shielding them from the greatest possible resource tool humankind has ever created?
We’re no longer living in a time where life’s path is cookie-cutter and easy to predict chronologically. In the “old” days, it was about going to college, scoring a great entry-level job at a top company, buying a house with white picket fences, marrying your sweetheart and having 2.5 kids before repeating the process all over again.
If you take a look at this list of young entrepreneurs making money online, it’s easily apparent that the “road less traveled” is becoming more and more standard fare than it once was. Regular blogs that I read for valuable help include Teenius, Blogussion and DaneBlogger which are all run by bloggers who can’t even buy a beer yet in this country! And they’re doing better than me! So why are parents still predominantly raising their kids with a notion that there’s only one path to success?
Looking at problems faced by young entrepreneurs online, it seems like most facets deal with adults who can’t handle the fact that kids are much smarter and savvier nowadays. Children have been given more tools to communicate, more access to information and more freedom to express themselves. Instead of shielding them from the potential pitfalls of this open stream, let’s look to embrace the technology and combine it with their likes, hobbies and passions. Even if it’s a passing flash-of-the-pan activity, you’ll be setting your children up for greater success in the future. This could give them vital experience and skills in an area that can translate well into their eventual choice of study and career.
Parents: What are you doing to get your children involved with their passions?