Here's the issue: how to be sure your kids are safe from viewing objectionable sites when they are searching the Internet. After all, you don't want them to stumble across something they should not see.
I bet you would like to find a program you could buy that you could install on your computer to block objectionable content, but permit research.
I have to tell you that there is no solution like that. These filter programs, such as NetNanny, look for a list of objectionable words in the site your child has chosen to visit. Simple words such as "leg" can raise the alarm and cause a headache, while regular research on breast cancer might be blocked.
But programs that look for words fail completely if the site has no objectionable words--only objectionable photos. My teenage son figured this out. He used Google Images to look for objectionable sites. He found them despite the fact that our filter, NetNanny, was turned on.
In fact, the filter program could never block these sites because it searches for words. It can't evaluate pictures.
So, how can you protect your child?
*Put the computers the kids use where YOU are in your home. Then monitor what they are doing.
*Have a login password that only the adults know. The kid has to have permission, and oversight, to use the computer.
*Require the child to log off when he is done. Now the password is required for the next session.
*Use filtering software. It may help.
*Make sure the kids know your expectations and the consequences for disobeying.
*Unplug the computer from the Internet if the child is using a word processor or other local program only.
*Require younger children to use your email address. This will allow you to protect them from vicious spam. As they get older, give teens their own email address, but make sure they give it out only to friends.
Following these precautions will help you keep your kids safe, and will teach your teenagers good habits for avoiding temptations.
About the Author
Phyllis Wheeler, the Computer Lady, gives this advice for parents. She also furnishes homeschool computer courses through MotherboardBooks.com, which has provided self-study computer skills and programming courses for kids and teens since 2003.
