Family Sites
There are a lot of scary places on the Internet، and kids aren’t the only ones who shouldn’t stumble upon some of the darker websites that are out there. Some people are simply disturbed، and they post images and ideas online to share their obvious metal disorders with the world. You can avoid most of these sites، and you know that there are enough family sites out there to keep both you and your children entertained. Not only that، it is rather simple to keep everything but family sites from popping up when anyone in your home gets online.
When it comes to family sites that are great for even the smallest children in your home، you need to look for sites that you can look over yourself. Tell your children that not all sites are what they appear to be، and if they aren’t sure، they should ask you if you think the site is safe. Younger children will go along with this for the most part، because they are not quite old enough to rebel against your wishes. When they get a little older، however، they may want to venture off of family sites، and this is where you have to be prepared before they start.
For starters، make sure you have filters set on your search engines to ensure that only family sites pop up when your child searches. Google has settings، but I’m not so sure that my child couldn’t figure out how to change them herself. If you fear this might be the case in your home، you have to go into your computers administrative account، and set parental controls for each of your children’s individual accounts. If you have Windows XP، you know that each person in your home can have their own account، but the parents have the ultimate control over what each user can do and see.
There is also software that parents can buy to ensure that their children are only visiting family sites on the Internet. If you look online، you will find advice about what software works best، and what you can expect it to do، and what it can’t do. As with anything، this software has its limitations. Check with parenting groups for recommendations as well.
No matter how badly you may feel about this، if you suspect your child is visiting sites other than family sites، you should make sure you keep an eye on where they are going. A quick click on the ‘history’ button on your browser will give you the information you need. If your child is clearing the history، then you can be sure there is something going on. Let them know you will be monitoring their activities، and if they are straying from family sites، you will be taking away their Internet privileges.
