Parents don't watch kids online

The majority of children in the UK are not being monitored while they surf the net.

With the summer holidays in full swing and children enjoying an extended break from school and studies a new survey reveals that parents are largely unaware of what sites children are visiting.

Research by BroadbandChoices.co.uk showed that 84 per cent of parents in the UK rely on a verbal agreement with their children as the primary way of monitoring online activity.

The same survey asked surfers aged 11-16 how they spend their online time during the holidays.

Nearly half said they download music, 45 per cent use chat rooms to make new friends online and 40 per cent use social-networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace.

"We were surprised to learn that such a high proportion of parents heavily rely on verbal agreements to ensure their children’s online activities are safe and legal," said Michael Phillips, product director at BroadbandChoices.co.uk.

"Children are often more tech-savvy than their parents and the click of a mouse can take them anywhere," he continued.

Many parents may not be aware of which sites their child is visiting or what they are downloading, Phillips added.

However, some of them could find out in the post as Virgin Media, in conjunction with the BPI, is sending out thousands of letters to broadband customers who download illegally.

www.broadbandchoices.co.uk