Nowadays, we cannot trust the advance technology where you don't have to get out of your house to get the most updated information from computer. Much of the stuff from the internet are not being controlled and they are heavily influenced to us. On the World wide Web, children have access to everything from classic children's stories and portraits of George Washington to drug-making recipes and nude pictures..and they don't need a credit card for any of it. Kids and the Internet have been a volatile mix since the Web first gained popularity a few years ago. But what can parents do to keep their children safe online? I have used this page to outline the basic things that parents should be aware of before letting their kids surf the net. I also have added more links that parents can take a look at the Parental Control Tools and some sites where parents can suggest their children to surf.
Certain people can pose a danger to kids online and certain information
online is not
appropriate for children, or is appropriate only for certain ages. Most
parents have strong
feelings about what their children should be exposed to, and are concerned
about how easy it
is to get information online. Parents may worry about materials that are
sexually explicit,
violent, racially biased, or overly commercial.
The good news is there are several things that parents can do to help make
their children's
online experiences safer.
1. Learn About the Internet
If you are just starting out on the Internet, see what your local
library, communitry center,
school or newspaper offers by way of introduction.
2. Get Involved
Your involvement in your child's life, including his or her
online life, is the best insurance you
can have of your child's safety. Use our parenting tips in this section
and learn with your
children about fun things to do as well as about the dangers online in
a way that makes you a
partner in the experience, rather than a resented censor.
3. Stay Informed
Keep yourself informed about parental control tools and how they can help
you keep your
child safe online.
4. Become an Advocate for Kids
If you see material or practices
online you do or do not like, contact your Internet
Service
Provider and the company that
created the material. Take advantage of this unique opportunity
to make sure that this growing medium develops in positive ways for kids.
Parent Stories José, a 10-year-old boy from Los Angeles, really likes science. He is especially interested in viruses, particularly the Ebola virus, which he has read about in the newspaper and seen stories about on TV. His dad even had a book about viruses called The Hot Zone.
One morning, using a search engine called "yahoo," he typed in the words "Hot Zone" to see if he could find out more about the Ebola virus. What he found was a sexually explicit Web site complete with photographs.
"Dad," José called out laughing, "you better come see this." Startled, José's father sat down at the computer with him and helped him to find accurate information about the Ebola virus. Together, they talked about what to do if such a situation occurred again and reaffirmed the family rules for using the Internet.
These
tools use several different strategies to help you control what your child
does online.
Check
out the overview of e-mail, the Web, and chat on these pages for a list
of the most
common
features of parental control tools.
But, remember no parental control tool is 100% reliable. Not only do tools inadvertently allow access to some inappropriate material and block access to some valuable information, but savvy children may be able to get around the controls.Kid Control
Allows parents to monitor what their children type online or offline.
Anytime you can click on a popup calendar and view what your
children have typed. See what they are chatting about online, what
web URLs they enter and more.
Library Safe
Library Safe is a server-based filter installed at a central location
maintained by a network administrator or an Internet service
provider. Library Safe uses a large database of Web sites
containing sexually explicit, fraudulent, and other materials which
would be deemed inappropriate in a public library. Sites are
discovered with an advanced self-learning web searching system,
and then automatically transmitted to each of the server
sites during the early morning hours.
Finding
Parental Control Tools
At this time, there are three primary places from which parents can obtain parental control tools:
1. Your
Internet
Service Provider (ISP). The best place to start is with the company
that provides you with a connection to the Internet, such as America
Online or Prodigy.
Most offer a range of control features, often for free.
2. Your
Local Computer or Retail Store. Here you can buy "blocking and filtering"
software,
such as Cyber Patrol and CYBERsitter,
that includes features similar to the ones provided
by an ISP. You have to set up these products on your own computer.
3. Your
Web Browser. You can also use certain Web browsers, such as Microsoft
Internet
Explorer, to enforce parental
control rating systems.
Keep an eye on other parental control tools, such as "safe areas" for kids,
new types of
rating systems, and search engines designed to find only information that
has been
approved for families.
Below are more links of Parental Control Tools:
