Nidhi Taparia

"I just love the stuff Discovery Channel has on animals at its site,'' says 9-year-old Resham Chordia.

Ten-year-old Fabio Chinoy, munching on a pack of chips, mutters, "I am too lazy. I surf from my Dad's office, where his secretary connects me up. Cartoon sites, games and anything else I find interesting."

"Formula1.com and shell-ferrari.com are my favourite sites," says 10-year-old racing buff Akhil from Hyderabad. Adds his father ruefully, "Yeah, he has already printed 2,500-odd pages, and bound them for ready reference.

No more muddied clothes. No more bruised elbows. Kids are having a great day out on the new playground called the Internet, even while their parents, worried as always, watch from the sidelines.

WWF, animated cartoons, interactive homework, music, and chat... they just can't have enough of it.

"I like to download music and emailing jokes and cartoons to my friends," says 12-year-old Aditya Akkineni. He is a pro now, having started surfing when he was just nine. And like an old hand, says conspiratorially: "You can even download codes to cheat at games."

What you cannot do, as Rishaby Iyer says, is "Exchange homework and projects via emails because they never reach on time." Iyer spends his time online reading jokes, playing games and checking out new sites, which are advertised.

Eleven-year-old sports freak and Bombay Scottish student, Abhimanyu Gupta, logs onto ESPN and WWF on a regular basis, while Salman Khan fan Resham Chordia is a part of the Khan fan club and likes to download his pictures from the official site.

While most parents are comfortable with the idea of letting their kids online, it's chatting that they are worried about.

Says Anita Iyer, "I am a little hesitant about my son getting on to chat, because of the language encountered in chat rooms. I am not worried about what he surfs otherwise, though in a year's time, I might install protective software or keep more tabs on what he is clicking on to."

"I would like to treat my child as a well-balanced child,'' says Nitin Gairodia. ''He knows what he should surf and what not. If I did find him surfing porn, though, I would install some software or have a talk with him. But otherwise, I think you just have to trust them."

Farida Master, mother of a 10-year-old, is, however, sceptical about the powers of the Internet. "I don't think I would like to tell her about the Internet. I think there is a time and place for everything and the Internet is still a very adult concept. I want her to retain her innocence, play with other children, read books than be hooked on to the Net."

The worry is not misplaced as Arpana Malhotra from Delhi reveals: "My 12-year-old niece once showed me some jokes she had found on the Net that made me blush. I was aghast because her mother is extremely strict about what she clicks on."

No wonder many parents try to monitor their children's time online. For six-year-old Juhi Arora surfing is a Sunday ritual to be enjoyed with her parents supervising her activity. Aditya and Akhil's parents have the Net Nanny software installed in order to prevent them from wandering into unknown quarters. "But we are aware when they surf from home. It is usually supervised surfing."

But parent of two, Priti Bhandari, a boutique owner in Pune, says, "It is difficult, especially when you have a computer at home. Both, my husband and I work. And the kids are alone. It is a catch-22 situation, and it cannot be helped."

Supervised or not, kids are happily clicking on to a new world. And teaching their parents a thing or two along the way. "You know I showed Mummy how to surf,'' Akash Mirchandani, from Bishop's School Pune, tells us. Next on his agenda: "I even want to show her how to write to my relatives in the US now."

Sites to bookmark...

My Kinda Site
http://www.mykindasite.com
A resource for kids. Edutainment is the main focus here although it has links to chat, headlines and books.

Our Kid Club
http://www.ourkidclub.com
Exam results, daily horoscope, discounts, fairy tales, news, prizes and lots more for kids here. Also on the site are diet tips, and articles.

Not a Kid
http://www.notakid.com
An interactive site focussed at children between 8 and 18. Besides education, find topics like music, movies, news reports, astrology, and breakthroughs in science and technology.

Net Fundu
http://www.netfundu.com
Based in New Delhi, this site for kids has everything from egreetings, a chat room and search engine, to other interesting pages titled Fun Brain, Fundu Facts, Time Pass, etc.

GoGoKid
http://www.gogokid.com
Site full of fun and edutainment for kids, with folk tales, stories, poetry, humour, and information covering our environment, history, mathematics and more. Also has opinion and discussion pages.

Appu Kids
http://www.appukids.com
An extensive childrens' site, it offers loads of entertainment, educational advice and tips, news, country info and a dictionary.

Indian Child
http://www.indianchild.com
Fun, games and entertainment, for the Indian child.

Cerf Kids
http://www.cerfkids.com
A fun site for children that is interactive. Has loads of engrossing sections. Kids can even paint pictures online, send mail and have a good time

Wow Kids
http://www.wowkids.org
An interactive site for children. Post messages to parents, find info on food, trips, movies, books and games.

Toons Today
http://www.toonstoday.com
A daily toon paper. Has cartoon mail, toon challenge, toon club, toon news and lots more.

SurfMonkey
http://www.surfmonkey.com
The first Web browser for kids. Amazingly simple to use (truly child's play!), it has step by step introduction to the Web; a database of links; instant troubleshooting tips; and an excellent search facility.

Kid Info: The World Encyclopaedia Sites
http://www.kidinfo.com/Geography/The_World.html
Ideal site for kids with details of nations and links to national home pages.

Look, Learn and Do
http://www.looklearnanddo.com
Read great books, learn interesting bits of history and facts, and build fun projects with easy to follow, illustrated plans.

Disney
http://disney.go.com
This site is for the whole family, and offers goodies for kids, teenagers and grown ups alike. The movie page has previews, synopses, photos, news, games and more.