September 24, 2025Open Access

An Investigation of Parental Control Practices, Internet Use Behaviors of Elementary School Students, and Their Relationships with School Performance

SΑStefanos ΑrmakolasUniversity of Patras TTTriantafyllia TakoumakiUniversity of Patras JKJan KrotkýUniversity of West Bohemia

Key Points

Higher parental control correlates with improved academic performance in children, indicating effective monitoring plays a vital role.
Children's increased internet use is linked to declining academic performance, suggesting time spent online impacts learning.
Qualitative research involved interviews with eight parents who are educators, providing insights into control practices and behaviors.
Findings highlight the need for balanced internet use to support better academic outcomes for elementary school students.

Abstract

It is widely known that children nowadays use the Internet for communication, entertainment, and educational purposes. Parents try to control their children's Internet use in various ways. Within this context, an investigation was carried out into the practices used by parents of primary school children to monitor Internet usage, as well as the impact of this usage on their academic performance. Through qualitative research and interviews with eight parents who were also educators, several conclusions were drawn regarding children's Internet use and its effect on school performance. The results of the present study showed that parents monitor their children's online activity by observing the websites they visit and try to limit the time they spend on the Internet. The responses indicated that the more time children spend online, the lower their academic performance tends to be. Moreover, the greater the parental control over Internet use, the higher the academic performance of primary school children.

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