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limiting internet access
- Thread starter flyin3d
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Lots of broadband routers (D-Link, Linksys, etc.) will allow some sort of parental control over internet access. There are also proxy software solutions that claim to do this too. There are always around these though, and kids are good at finding them if they really want to.
When our daughter was old enough to start using e-mail and the Internet, we decided the best solution wasn't to limit her access. What we did was set up our main computer out in our living room, where anything she sees can also be seen by us. Especially when she was younger, her "Web browsing" was largely done with me right there anyway since she had a lot of questions about how various things worked (Java games and such).
Now that she's a teenager she has a second-hand laptop. We have a rule that if she's in her room and on the net, her door has to be open. She hasn't expressed any dissatisfaction with this so far (give it a couple years though).
I also think that, if you institute this sort of policy, it's important to discuss the reasons with your kid. "Because I say so!" doesn't count.
I wouldn't be surprised if some people here will want to argue with this - a big part of the Mac Rumors forum membership list seems to be 16 or younger! - but it's worked well so far.
When our daughter was old enough to start using e-mail and the Internet, we decided the best solution wasn't to limit her access. What we did was set up our main computer out in our living room, where anything she sees can also be seen by us. Especially when she was younger, her "Web browsing" was largely done with me right there anyway since she had a lot of questions about how various things worked (Java games and such).
Now that she's a teenager she has a second-hand laptop. We have a rule that if she's in her room and on the net, her door has to be open. She hasn't expressed any dissatisfaction with this so far (give it a couple years though).
I also think that, if you institute this sort of policy, it's important to discuss the reasons with your kid. "Because I say so!" doesn't count.
I wouldn't be surprised if some people here will want to argue with this - a big part of the Mac Rumors forum membership list seems to be 16 or younger! - but it's worked well so far.
flyin3d said:
At six you have to be REAL careful. I have never seen a blocker that actually blocks everything, except: AOL. I know how some of us feel about them, but it has everything she needs, especially the edu parts. You could also use some of the other stuff mentioned, but she's SIX man. If you have DSL or high speed, AOL is pretty cheap for piece of mind.
I tried those blockers, and one day my 9 year old typed a search in for "horses, ladies, trainers, whips" because she saw something on TV about cruelty to animals. Guess what was not blocked? Pry open your wallet and get the girl something educational and SAFE. Some of you might think this is funny, but as a parent I am not amused. And please don't anyone try to argue a way out: We all know that WE look at the net different than a child. New questions have to be asked. Why IE? Why the net at all? What do I WANT her to see, and why have misc. site access at all? Your daughter or son will be THRILLED with AOL, and it doesn't matter what WE think the internet is. Clear dude?
while I'll agree with the AOL parental controls recommendation (regardless of how much it hurts me...), I'd also recommend looking into a browser called BumperCar from Freeverse software. It provides the level of protection against the bad stuff of the web that you're looking for, and still works exceptionally well. You can set up Whitelists/blacklists of sites you know are safe, and will completely restrict access to things you've approved, down to requiring a parental password to leave any one given site. I've got a 7 year old and a 4 year old, so I've been in the same boat as you for a while. My wife and I tried this out, and recommend it.