If you have pint-size internet operators, which becomes practically a given when they get to be the age my girls are, you’re no doubt concerned with the sites that their innocent eyes might unwittingly see.
I’ve resisted child internet use for as long as possible, I think. It’s just not something I wanted to deal with. Then a couple years ago, the girls started getting homework that involved doing research on the internet. When I helped Rachel find some facts on how big horses get, you can just imagine all the less-than-savory search results I got on Google.
Then my mom and dad, who live across the country and across the globe, respectively, thought it’d be nice if the girls had their own email accounts. I dragged my feet for about a year on that one.
Finally I ran across some information about Windows Live Family Safety. It lets parents control everything their kids see with a password. You can put sites on the “safe” list for the kids, and when they go somewhere that’s not on the list, they have to ask a parent for permission in order to visit that site. I love it. Best of all, it’s free!
I also set up email accounts for the girls through Windows Live, which can be controlled by Family Safety too. Another perfect solution. They can’t add addresses to their accounts without my permission, which means they can’t receive emails from anyone who isn’t in their address book, nor can they email anyone I haven’t approved. Now, admittedly on occasion that has been pretty annoying, but when I think about the possible alternatives, I’m definitely willing to be slightly inconvenienced.
No one, including the parent, can get on the internet without logging in. That way Family Safety knows which permissions to apply depending on the user. The program also boasts different levels of control, so for older kids, you don’t have to be quite as strict if that’s your preference.
If this program isn’t installed on your computer, it should be. If you don’t already have a Live email address, you’ll have to get one in order to operate Family Safety, but other than having yet another password to remember, that’s hardly a sacrifice.
You can download Family Safety here:
http://download.live.com/familysafety.
Just one less thing to worry about.
Parental control softwares have become indispensable nowadays. In younger children’s cases, it’s not so much what they want to check out but what want’s to “get in”. A lot of popups include sexually suggestive visuals as well as nasty computer viruses which install without warning.
Thanks for the link, I will check it out.
Shannon,
You’re so right about younger children having things they shouldn’t see pop up unexpectedly. That’s why I love this software.
I personally think that YouTube is one of the biggest dangers out there. While it can be useful and even educational, there are many X-rated clips.
Another problem I’ve started to run across is my girls surfing the web at their friends’ houses, friends with no parental controls or rules. I’m not sure how to handle that. Sigh. I wish everyone would just install this software and then I wouldn’t have to worry about it.
Sarah
i like your site great info
Thanks for this! I’m going to forward it to some friends. My MIL awhile back asked us to get my daughter an email account but I didn’t think she needed one. I said they could email her at my account or my husband’s. Didn’t think a 6-7 year old needed an email address. We may get one for her at some point this fall, due to some life changes, and I’ll refer back to this post when that happens! THanks for sharing.
I know, I’m homeschooling my 9 y.o. stepdaughter, and when it comes to research, she really doesn’t really pay attention. She just types in something vague and clicks on the first thing she sees. She is often surprised to find that the website she’s visiting doesn’t have any info that she’s looking for! I know, because I skim the preview paragraphs. I have parental controls set up so I know she won’t see anything she shouldn’t. Still, I think it’s more important to teach your kids the do’s, don’ts, and how-to’s about computers. That way, they won’t do anything they shouldn’t, even if they’re at a friend’s house. Computers should be treated like drugs–you need to know when it’s okay to use them, how to use them safely, and what to avoid at all costs. If you can teach your kids not to use drugs at a friend’s house, then you can teach them to use the computer responsibly at a friend’s house too.