Response to Government's Cyber Wellness Programmes for Parents

Ms Low Yen Ling asked the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (a) what is the estimated number of parents being reached through MDA's Parents Portal and Parental Guidebook for cyber wellness; and (b) whether the Ministry has plans to target parents of preschoolers to receive cyber wellness education and to prevent premature video game addiction by preschoolers.

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The Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts (Mr Chan Chun Sing) (for the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts): Mr Speaker, Sir, parents have always been a key partner in MDA's outreach programmes as they play a pivotal role in guiding and nurturing positive media and Internet consumption habits among their children.

Empowering parents with the necessary information, tools and resources can go a long way towards the cyber wellness of our children. From February this year, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have been required to actively promote Internet filters at the point of sale or renewal of residential broadband subscriptions. This will help raise awareness among parents about the availability of such tools to help protect young children from undesirable online content. MDA's Cyber Wellness and Parents Portal webpages provide parents with information on media classification tools, content ratings, cyber wellness issues, as well as tools such as parental locks and content filter services. The information is also available in the parental guidebook which has been distributed at schools and public events. I am pleased to note that the cyber wellness website (http://www.cyberwellness.org.sg) has been well-received, with close to 220,000 page views, and is currently being refreshed to engage more visitors. MDA is also currently assessing the need to include more in-depth information in future editions of the parental guidebook, or even print copies in vernacular languages.

Beyond providing tools and resources, MDA also works with various stakeholder groups to drive home the cyber wellness message. MDA works closely with schools and community self-help groups to conduct public workshops and talks for parents. Last year, close to 2,000 participants attended these workshops. MDA also works with publishers to reach out to more parents. Recently, MDA collaborated with Motherhood Magazine to highlight tools available for parents to protect children from undesirable content. MDA also shared cyber wellness tips through the online publication TheAsianParent.com.

We recognise that younger children are becoming increasingly exposed to activities and games on the Internet as parents use connected devices like smartphones and tablets as "baby-sitting" tools. MDA will continue to study changes in demographics and media consumption habits and work with various partners to extend and strengthen its outreach efforts. As we work together with parents, teachers and the rest of the community to safeguard our children as they explore our changing media environment, we welcome and will support initiatives that help promote safe, responsible and ethical Internet use and behaviour.

Ms Low Yen Ling (Chua Chu Kang): Sir, I thank the Minister for the comprehensive reply. I have one supplementary question. Besides parents, does MDA have any plan to work with MCYS and MOE to extend outreach to the pre-schoolers directly? I ask this because just last month, the Health Promotion Board launched a new initiative called CHERISH Junior, where teachers will use lessons and activities to teach pre-schoolers about health-related topics. Is there any scope to dovetail both the Cyber Wellness Programme and the CHERISH Junior programme for pre-schools?

Mr Chan Chun Sing: Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank Ms Low Yen Ling for the supplementary question. The short answer is "yes", we will definitely take on her suggestion for MDA to work closely with MCYS and MOE to reach out to our young children.

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