Block kids’ access to adult content

WHILE parents are flooding back to work to renew their professional and service obligations with improved strength and empty purses, children will be mostly left alone to entertain themselves for the duration of the holiday season.

Various gifts were shared among families, including smart phones and the non-negotiable DStv, mainly meant to babysit through special channels from cartoons to an uphill list of movies.

This period requires vigilance and guidance from parents during their absence from home.

The common problems include series and movies accessed while parents are asleep or not paying attention to children. The rated material and age inappropriate content is then viewed.

This creates a dilemma where children explore and bully each other, and paedophiles find a gap to operate and expand sexual exploitation syndicates.

The Child Care Act clearly states that exposing children (under the age of 18) to inappropriate material constitutes a criminal offence. In the act there is no distinction between accidental or intentional exposure, thus making a parent liable and they may be criminally charged.

The Films and Publications Act makes it punishable by law to use children in pornography and to expose them thereto.

Therefore adults have a prerogative to make informed choices for children under their care with respect to media consumption, premature exposure and sexual exploitation.

The use of blocking features to prevent children from premature exposure should be a priority. Installation of cyber-safe software on electronic devices should also be a primary measure.

Parental supervision of electronic gadgets ought to be part of the parent-child deal when gifting children with these gadgets.

Palesa Kadi , New Brighton, Port Elizabeth