How to Keep Your Kids Safe on the Internet
Filed Under: Family
You may be wondering how you can make the Internet safe for your kids. You’d like to protect them from the objectionable sites and emails that would be so easy for them to find.
Perhaps you’d like to buy a solution that you can use on your computer that will not allow them to look at objectionable sites, yet will allow them to freely browse.
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, what can you as a parent do?
* Keep your computers where you can monitor what the kids are doing. Put them in the kitchen or wherever YOU are.
*Only the adults should know the login password. The kids will have to have permission to get on.
*Ensure that the kid logs off when the computer session is over, or turns the computer off. This makes the password required for the next session.
*Use a filter like NetNanny. It will help when your back is turned.
*Kids should be told what you expect from them, and the consequences of disobedience.
*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.
Your watchfulness will pay off. Your children will be protected from what they should not see, and they will also learn good habits for using the Internet as adults.
