Keep Your Kids Safe on the World Wide Web
Are you wondering how to make the Internet safe for your kids? You want them to use the Internet for research, but you don’t want them to find objectionable sites or emails.
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 like this fail when trying to filter objectionable photo sites that have no objectionable words. So, how do I know this? I am sad to say that my teenage son enlightened me. Using Google Images, he searched for objectionable sites and found them, even though the filtering program was on.
The software could not have detected the objectionable photos, since NetNanny and similar software look for objectionable words. They are not able to evaluate pictures.
The next question is, “What’s a parent to do?”
*The computer should be where you can monitor what the kidsa re doing. They should be where YOU are.
*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 you will punish them if they are looking at objectionable sites. Visit their terminals at unpredictable times.
*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.
