Parental Control Programs - How to Protect Children Online
Sadly, predators are everywhere, and online is no exception, so parents need to be vigilant to protect their children. While parental guidance and oversight is the most important thing a parent can do, parental control software can help.
Common sense tips for protecting children online include keeping the computer in an open area in the house so you can casually monitor what sites they are visiting as well as spending time on the computer with your kids, which gives you the opportunity to explain about predators (take your children to your state's sex offender site and show them some of the creeps there) as well as show them sites they are allowed to visit. Teach them about using nicknames and to never give out personal information, as well as restrict them from creating any online profiles.
But, no matter how loving a parent is and how careful they are in teaching their children Internet safety, kids are kids...and most are going to want to sneak around, even if just a little bit. And that is where parental controlling programs can come in handy.
Good parental controls will monitor and filter access to sites on the Internet...or even to the Internet itself. Constantly updated databases automatically filter out 'bad' sites. Parents can add their own list of sites to be filtered as well as filter sites by 'bad' words.
Parents can also restrict or even block access to programs, such as email or IM, as well as control the time period, length of time, and so forth that the child can be online. If you want to restrict your child's online access to 5-6 PM, you can do it. If you want to block instant messaging, you can do it. Plus, in the case of several kids, you can set different parameters for each child.
In addition, good software provides the parent with detailed online activity logs so you can see what sites and programs have been accessed and when.
Not all of the programs will be created equal. You need to check reviews of the various products you are interested in to make sure they meet your needs. For example, if you want things like a stealth feature, chat room monitoring, or remote reporting (so you can check on your kids' activities from another computer), not all of these programs have all these features.
And, remember, parental control programs are only a tool. Parental involvement is even more important when it comes to protecting your children online.
Sadly, predators are everywhere, and online is no exception, so parents need to be vigilant to protect their children. While parental guidance and oversight is the most important thing a parent can do, parental control software can help.
Common sense tips for protecting children online include keeping the computer in an open area in the house so you can casually monitor what sites they are visiting as well as spending time on the computer with your kids, which gives you the opportunity to explain about predators (take your children to your state's sex offender site and show them some of the creeps there) as well as show them sites they are allowed to visit. Teach them about using nicknames and to never give out personal information, as well as restrict them from creating any online profiles.
But, no matter how loving a parent is and how careful they are in teaching their children Internet safety, kids are kids...and most are going to want to sneak around, even if just a little bit. And that is where parental controlling programs can come in handy.
Good parental controls will monitor and filter access to sites on the Internet...or even to the Internet itself. Constantly updated databases automatically filter out 'bad' sites. Parents can add their own list of sites to be filtered as well as filter sites by 'bad' words.
Parents can also restrict or even block access to programs, such as email or IM, as well as control the time period, length of time, and so forth that the child can be online. If you want to restrict your child's online access to 5-6 PM, you can do it. If you want to block instant messaging, you can do it. Plus, in the case of several kids, you can set different parameters for each child.
In addition, good software provides the parent with detailed online activity logs so you can see what sites and programs have been accessed and when.
Not all of the programs will be created equal. You need to check reviews of the various products you are interested in to make sure they meet your needs. For example, if you want things like a stealth feature, chat room monitoring, or remote reporting (so you can check on your kids' activities from another computer), not all of these programs have all these features.
And, remember, parental control programs are only a tool. Parental involvement is even more important when it comes to protecting your children online.