Parents urged to monitor infringement of children’s rights on digital environments.

Nyamira Sunday June 18, 2023

KNA by: Deborah Bochere

Parents in Nyamira have been advised to guard their children against infringement of their children's rights and abuse through digital content platforms when accessing online spaces.

Manga sub–County Deputy County Commissioner in Nyamira County, Meda Maonga counseled parents and caregivers while presiding over the celebration of the Day of the African Child (DAC) at Tombe DEB Primary school observing that children readily access digital content from online platforms through the phones and have unknowingly been abused because guardians have not put censor or restive mechanisms on the content children access via the digital gadgets.

“The current children are our future hope, that’s why we are investing in their education so that they can be dependable and enlightened society at the same time be a pillar to lean on when our strength to work and fend for them is depleted,” she said.

Digital gadgets have made learning digitally very enjoyable for most of our children but at the same time the same digital spaces are being used by scrupulous digital content creators to abuse children and even lure them into accessing inappropriate content like pornographic content which corrupts the young children’s mind and distracts them from focusing on their education which is their priority now.” commented the DCC Maonga. 

“Guardians must therefore be on high alert to know the sites their children visit, nature of content their children are accessing online, the kind of friends they are making online and their conversations or information they exchange online because it could lure them into criminal activities which is unacceptable,” the DCC counseled.

Mr. Dauglas Ondiere, the Chief executive officer for A Child Kenya, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that supports education, life skills and values development in children revealed that research has shown that children who learn from the digital spaces and environment are likely to perform better in school. Unfortunately, the same digital environment is used to abuse children’s digital rights because of the wrong content and enticing information which lures them into abuse activities or guides them to make wrong decisions. 

“I urge all partners supporting children to ensure that they create friendly and correct digital environments for children to enjoy learning and expose them to the right content online at the same time scouting for any traces of abuse and infringing on children’s rights.

The county director for children services. Rasta Omollo said that digital environments are real because they have been mainstreamed in the education curriculum and parents, teachers and partners must make concerted efforts to advise children on the right content to access online and guide them to right online platforms to get content which will enhance their education and career progression.

“All children stakeholders must take time to counsel them on how to detect and shun abusive content because they will be lured into being engaged into unacceptable behavior that infringes on their rights.

Courtesy ; K. N. A