Internet use

[Betsy]

How do you monitor what your kids do online and how much time they spend on the internet? I think it is so scary these days to think about all the predators that seek out kids online. Plus, there is a lot of adult content out there that they don't need to see. How do you control it in your house?

[charming]

You could be in the same room with them for starters, and there are tons of programs out there which allow for monitor software to be installed and have certain things locked down.

[Marvie]

I second to that charming. Put the computer in a room where they can't hide anything. A good place is between the living room and the dining room where people always walk through. You can also ask your internet provider to block adult-related websites so you don't have to bother about your kids visiting these obscene websites.

[Ludwig]

My children are not yet old enough to surf the internet but they use the computer for games. I have placed a password on our internet so that when they try to browse the internet, they will need to enter a password which only me and my wife knows about.

[Kandy]

For kids and teenagers I would place the computer in high traffic area as suggested and speak to the child about accessing certain websites. If the child violates the agreement, I would have to supervise the child's use of the computer, imagine the dread of them using Facebook with you sitting next to them.

[Ambersmom]

My daughter knows which websites she can go on. There is also this software called Net Nanny that won't allow her to go into several sites. It also e-mails me when she tries to. So far so good, there hasn't been anything bad that she has tried to go on.

[Ellie]

I like that idea Ambersmom so you know what is going on. I also like the idea of keeping the computer in a high traffic area. Do you guys allow your teens to have cell phones with internet service?

[Gasolina]

We do the same thing Charming, Marvie and Kandy do. The computer is in the dining area, and is visible from the kitchen.

Windows allows you to set up "accounts" on your computer. Then you can use "parental controls" to attribute the account with settings that will block out many sites and prevent downloads unless the system administrator (you) enters your password. Sites that you want full access granted to the children can be put in the "trusted sites" list.

[dexi]

I find it very frustrating that there are very offensive sites that have URL's only one letter away from kid's sites. It is important to add blocks to your computers to avoid a simple miss keying taking your child to the wrong site.

[hariette.alcantara]

Just give give your child specific URL's and site's more over and blocked adult site'sin your CPU.