I have three kids and I know what you are saying..........we protect them at home with a lot of supervision and parental locks on the computer and TV. When they started going over to their friends houses I always asked the mom about internet usage and what she allowed her child to watch etc, if it wasn't the sme as my theory I politley asked that while my kids were there could she not allow certain shows etc and so far it has never been a problem. School is tricky you cant protect them from what other kids say and do but the school does monitor the computer usage and any videos watched. No matter what you do as a parent you can not always shelter your children all we can really do is teach them the values that we hold dear and let them grow up, let them know if something is inappropriate and tell them why when they ask, be honest with them without scaring them.Parents: how do you control what your kid does/sees on the net?
my daughters are too young yet but when they get older, i will not allow them on with out me being home, my pc will have a password so they cant even get on with out it. and if they are somewhere else, i will just have to trust them, trust that I taught them the right thing to do.
Yes it is possible but you have to be very diligent and not worry about what everyone else thinks and does! My children are only allowed 1 hour total of TV per day, AFTER they have completed all homework and chores. The shows they are allowed to watch are shows that I have approved of before hand. As far as the internet, they are allowed 1/2 hour per day and again, only websites I have approved of. If they ever try to go on another website that is not approved of, they lose their computer privileges for 1 week, and then we start over again! This has only happened once. My children do not wear the ';latest'; fashions. They dress nicely and appropriately. We have explained to them that unfortunately, the way we dress can draw either negative or positive attention. The same goes for toys- my girls do not have nor do they wish to have any toys that promote ';older'; behaviors. No Bratz dolls, no makeup before I feel they are ready, etc... Finally, we constantly discuss why its important to focus on God, family and school, and not get caught up in the whole game of ';boyfriends';. My goodness, in my daughter's kindergarten class, some of the moms think its cute when their children talk about having boyfriends or girlfriends. There is nothing cute about it and all it is doing is advocating something they are not ready for! How can you tell them when they are 12 that they can't have a boyfriend, when you sit there and tell them at 5 that its cute??? Our children have friends but their 1st and most important friends are eachother! We limit how much influence others have on them. This I believe is the key to keeping your kids exactly that, kids!
My son is five, so no worries now, but he knows his way around a computer. I do have nieces and nephews around the impressionable age and when they come over, they use the computer.
I have a mature content blocker. And I sweep by and check what site they're on.
I don't have a child yet, but this is how it was at my house growing up and how I intend to do it at my house when my child is at that age.
We had a computer that was kept in the family room where anyone could walk by at anytime. When our parents weren't home, we weren't allowed on the computer--they had it password protected. When they were home, we had a time limit each night. We knew that our parents could walk by anytime, and my dad made it a habit of coming over every 10 or 15 minutes and talking to us. He did this so he could see what we were doing. If anything was minimized and looked suspicious to him, he would make us open it so he could see. He also checked the history and cookies often to know what we were doing.
It seemed annoying at the time, but looking back I can see that it really helped keeps us off of inappropriate sites.
**Unfortunately you can't ever protect your kids 100%. At some point you just have to trust that you raised them to make smart choices.
Make sure that you have password protection and parental controls online. It's ok also to check the history of where your kids have been, but don't become obsessive and do it everyday. A certain amount of trust needs to be given, but if the trust is broken certain punishment such as you can only use the internet for school projects and under adult supervision only may have to be enforced. Just be cautious.
As far as school, kids only have access to certain things on the net. Their friends houses, I would have to know the parents are quite strict with such things before letting my child go to their house. If I know my kid's not going to be properly supervised, the only way they are going there is if my husband or I go as well.
To protect your kids from certain sites on the internet, you can do a parental block. This makes sure kids only go on ';kid friendly'; sites. Keep your foot down, and you will make a great parent.
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