Children's Television Workshop and Microsoft Corp. funded the study. The study was based on interviews with a random sample of 1,735 parents of children ages 2 to 17 and 601 children ages 8 to 17 from the same households. Parents trust their children's use of the Internet and generally believe it's a safe place. Sixty-seven percent of parents surveyed say they serve as a guide to good content. They monitor the sites their children visit, limit their time spent online, and set other rules about usage.
Parents do have some concerns, however.
The top three concerns cited by parents are that their children will encounter pornography, undesirable adults, and violent or hate content. Parents and children report that the Internet does not disrupt children's everyday habits and normal, healthy activities. Eighty-five percent of parents whose children use the Internet report their children spend more or the same amount of time reading books. Thirty-seven percent of parents whose children are online say their children's television watching has decreased since they began using the Internet at home. Girls use the Internet as much as boys.