Ok, well someone has to say it! Parents today abdicate so much of their responsibility. When I was a kid growing up, my parents did not do my projects for me - their take on that was, they had their education, it wouldn't help me if they did the project. My teachers did not copy all the notes on a given subject for me to glue into my school book - they would give me the names of the books to read to find the information that was required and it was up to me to find the information and make my own notes. My mother did not 'cover' my books for me - she provided the paper, the plastic and the sellotape - I had to cover my own books.

The amount of TV that I was allowed to watch was limited and I was encouraged to go outside and play. I was encouraged to read and as a result my imagination was developed.

The difference today, is that I can think for myself and I have a measure of 'common sense'! Common sense to me today, is an extremely rare commodity and I believe it is because children are not encouraged to think for themselves!

Today parents expect the school staff to rear their children. All the important bits, like sex education, moral values, and even the 'dangers' that lurk out there (none of which, sadly, are new) become someone else's responsibility.

For goodness sake, set the bounderies. Tell your children what is and what isn't acceptable and punish them if they over step those boundries. You are not doing them any favours if you don't because life itself has consequences and it is your job as parents, to protect your children and prepare them for life.

As for the shop owner in this story - get real! If your sales are dropping, because your staff are not performing - don't blame MXIT - blame yourself. Kick his/her arse and tell them to get on with it - if they want to play with MXIT in their time - there is nothing you can do about it - but office hours are your time! Either they perform or they leave - it's their decision!

MXit creator takes parents to task
August 28 2006 at 01:09PM
By Candes Keating

Parents should take responsibility for their children using MXit, says Herman Heunis, the creator of the instant cellphone messaging program. The Cape Argus reported on pupils addicted to the service, spending hours on MXit, last week. One school began a support group for pupils hooked on MXit, while others banned cellphones. Heunis said he knew of children who spent hours on Mxit and said it was "not healthy".

'People don't always have access to a computer, so they Mxit'

"We do not advocate or condone the use of cellphones during school hours or when children should be doing home-work," he said. Heunis said parents should talk to their children about their use of MXit. He also said MXit was a "positive" service because it provided a cost-effective way for people to communicate.

He said the program could not control what people chatted about, but there were warnings on the website where users had to register. MXit was not "in any way associated or connected to porn", said Heunis.

Desiree Lang, a mother of three teenagers, urged parents to set rules around MXit, instead of banning it. She had set down guidelines earlier this year, when she found out her three teenagers were on Mxit. "I told them they can only talk to cousins and friends, no illegal sites and no using it at school," she said. "My children speak to their cousins in Port Elizabeth all the time on MXit.

This means I'm saving on telephone costs. I believe communication with our children is key to helping them make the right choices." Lang said her children were not allowed to MXit for several days if they transgressed the rules. Celeste Scott said she had also set MXit rules with her two children. In order to use MXit, users must subscribe to the services via the Internet and can then chat to people they know or do not know. Those they know can be added to their Mxit contact lists.

Scott, who also uses the service, added her son as a contact so that she can check up on his MXit activities."If I see that he goes in at a time that he should not be on, I send him a message to tell him to log off. He is only allowed to go on when he is at home and only after homework and supper is finished," she said. "Parents must keep a check all the time," she said.

Scott said that if MXit was used "correctly," there would not be any problems. Grade 10 pupil Ferila Devries said she used MXit to chat to friends: "I believe it is how it is used which determines danger. If you talk to someone you don't know, you put yourself in danger." Rafiq Phillips, who runs IDrive, a driving school Internet search engine, said he used MXit for business purposes. He said he provided learners with driver advice, information and support via MXit."People don't always have access to a computer, so they MXit," he said.

"We are one of the first companies to use MXit in this way," he said. His company has recently been nominated for a youth innovation award. But Salie Madalie, a single father of six, said three of his teenagers were "hooked" on MXit and, despite setting rules, he was battling to get them to pay attention to school and housework. "They must really find a way to put a stop to MXit," he said.

A shop owner in Tableview who does not want to be named said one of her employees was "hooked" on MXit. "We are losing quite a lot of sales because he spends all his time on MXit."

This article was originally published on page 5 of Cape Argus on August 28, 2006