Having been in the Education sector for the last five years and being largely exposed to students from Pre Primary to Higher Secondary grade, I have no doubts in my mind that the nascent age of 0 - 7 years is perhaps the most elevant and critical during a growing up phase and what gets soaked in by the brain during this age period is likely to stay throughout the life. It is little wonder that our wise grandparents used to try and spend as much time with their grandchildren during this age to tell them stories, and fables that would some where have a positive impact on them in the long run.

The 21st century, however, reduces the interaction between wise old grandparents and grandchildren and increases the interaction between digital devices and children. A two year old baby is now fascinated by the powerful light that radiates from a smart-phone and before one realizes what is happening,the baby seems to have managed to get the fingers on to the scrolling button. Can we avoid this and yank the baby of this natural instinct? Probably not! Can we help channelize the baby’s brain to a more meaningful output in these very devices? Probably yes!

Parents of today’s generation will need to realize that their children have evolved 10 times more than what they were as children. This realization will help them to evaluate the

fascinating world of the World Wide Web that is designed for children. Multiple portals have mushroomed in the last half a decade that cater to this very powerful mind of the children and also help lost parents who are looking for self-help mechanisms to engage their children - These website portals cover early days of math development, literacy skills, brain sharpeners, enable touch and feel experiences, display colors and interactive processes for coloring and so on and so forth. Melisa Willets, a famous child author has listed down the following as her top 10 educational websites for kids
1. Curious World
2. PBS Kids
3. National Geographic Kids
4. ABCmouse.com
5. Funbrain
6. Babytv.com
7. Agnitus.com
8. Farfaria
9. BrainPOP
10. Spatullata

Multiple portals have mushroomed in the last half a decade that cater to very powerful minds of the children and also help lost parents who are looking for self help mechanisms to engage their children

The above may be useful but by no means are they comprehensive. There are many other websites available. I would yet urge parents to choose one website for every key learning outcome area and effectively use that. Petrified Parents of teens in particular must open their minds to become a friend to their children and have them expose their challenges and concerns that they may have encountered during their surfing experiences and even be prepared to stumble upon “impermissible websites” and slowly become a friend to them and help navigate them to the more useful brain sharpening websites that some child experts have endorsed.

In conclusion, no matter you are young or old, embrace the World Wide Web. It has its share of content that must be kept away from children. However, I am still biased that with the right grounding and ability to listen, the World Wide Web is a fantastic playground for growing up children.