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.