Parents fear Net steals kid's childhoods

CUPERTINO, Calif., July 31 (UPI) -- A U.S. survey indicates 76 percent of parents blame the Internet for making their children grow up too fast, but parents give kids computers at younger ages.

The Trend Micro eParenting Report, which surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults nationwide with at least one child under the age of 15, found 76 percent of parents blame the Internet for making their children grow up too fast and 55 percent said it's impossible to keep children from seeing inappropriate material on the Internet.

"This may be the most difficult time in the history of parenting," Natalie Severino, director, consumer marketing at Trend Micro, a provider of server and cloud-based security, said in a statement. "On one hand you have technological wonders that allow your kids to open their minds and imagination and on the same playground you have new levels of danger."

However, the eParenting Report also found parents give their children access to technology sooner. Some 62 percent said it's appropriate for a child to own a computer at age 13 or younger.

Parents are also keeping track of their children online. Eighty-seven percent of parents admitted they "friended" their child on Facebook so they could monitor their activity on the site.

In addition, 66 percent of parents said they started following their child on Twitter so they could monitor their activity, while 60 percent revealed they check their child's Twitter feed on a daily basis.