by Phyllis Wheeler

Here's the issue: how to be sure your kids are safe from viewing objectionable sites when they are searching the Internet. After all, you don't want them to stumble across something they should not see.

I bet you would like to find a program you could buy that you could install on your computer to block objectionable content, but permit research.

I have to tell you that there is no solution like that. These filter programs, such as NetNanny, look for a list of objectionable words in the site your child has chosen to visit. Simple words such as "leg" can raise the alarm and cause a headache, while regular research on breast cancer might be blocked.

But programs like this fail when trying to filter objectionable photo sites that have no objectionable words. So, how do I know this? I am sad to say that my teenage son enlightened me. Using Google Images, he searched for objectionable sites and found them, even though the filtering program was on.

In fact, the filter program could never block these sites because it searches for words. It can't evaluate pictures.

So, how can you protect your child?

*The computer should be where you can monitor what the kidsa re doing. They should be where YOU are.

*Only the adults should know the login password. The kids will have to have permission to get on.

*Ensure that the kid logs off when the computer session is over, or turns the computer off. This makes the password required for the next session.

*Use filtering software. It may help.

*Kids should be told what you expect from them, and the consequences of disobedience.

*Unplug the computer from the Internet if the child is using a word processor or other local program only.

*Make younger kids use your email address. Then you can be sure to delete that filth that lands in the inbox from time to time. Or, as the kids get older, give them their own but instruct them to give out their address only to trusted friends.

Your watchfulness will pay off. Your children will be protected from what they should not see, and they will also learn good habits for using the Internet as adults.

About the Author:
Phyllis Wheeler, the Computer Lady, gives this advice for parents. She also provides homeschool computer courses through MotherboardBooks.com, which has offered do-it-yourself computer science courses for kids and teens since 2003.

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