The Issue

Modern parents have to be vigilant about knowing what their children are doing online. There are many ways to prevent their children from viewing undesirable Internet addresses when they are online. Each method has its strengths and its weaknesses, however one method stands out above all the rest when it comes to maximum effectiveness.

For parents who give up and say it is too hard to keep track of what their children are doing when they are connected to the Internet, here is an analogy that they should take to heart. Would they have a similar response argument if the discussion was about playing with matches on the parlor rug? Then why is the topic of World Wide Web usage any different?

Age Warning Pages

Age warning pages or age verification check boxes on sites reasonably cover the site owner from a legal standpoint for trying to keep out those who are not old enough to view the content. Of course, from a children's viewpoint, those safeguards only serve to make the website more appealing and they no doubt check off the age box in whatever way will get them into the site.

Blocking Access

Leading search engines and some ISP's have "parental locks" similar to the V-Chip on television sets. The purpose of these is to block access to sites that have undesirable content. You can set search engine home pages to only provide acceptable content. There are usually levels of "safety" that parents can set.

Parents also spend money on filtering programs such as Norton Internet Security, NetNanny, ContentBarrier, and other similar products. While they are probably reasonably effective, website filtering programs has its share of quirks too. An often-cited example is that the filters block access to medical or medical related research such as thoat belonging to various breast cancer foundations because those sites make reference to body parts.

The Stealth Solution

For an even more-high-tech solution, there are computer programs called keyloggers. Keyloggers keep track of what has been input on a keyboard and can regurgitate that information. Essentially, these keyloggers are allowing someone} to spy on what has been typed on a keyboard after the fact. Also be aware that there are programs that can record everything that takes place on a computer including, chat discussions, e-mail messages, e-mails, email conversations sent and received, pictures saved, and websites visited. Some software even allows you to put in place a system to alert when a violation has occurred such as a kid visiting a IP address that a parent or guardian has instructed him or her not to visit.

Any or all of the above methods may contribute to a parent's overall plan to protect his or her children from the dangers of the modern online world, but there is still one more method that every parent should implement right away.

Solving The Problem Once And For All

The easiest solution is absolutely the most obvious one, which means that is easily overlooked. Here it is in one sentence; it encourages family togetherness and it's free. Ready? Put the laptops right in the middle of the living room!

Do you need a minute to get over the shock of this idea? I warned you that the brilliance would be in the simplicity. I'm sure you can imagine the look of shock on your son's face and the screams of protest from your daughter that you are ruining her life and totally invading her privacy with this act of parental treason. You will have to put up with the arguments that your kid's friend's parents let them have their net access in their own rooms.

Proper parenting skills should never be based on the neighbors and their parenting style unless they happen to be exemplary role models as parents. If that is the case, I can practically guarantee that your their teenagers won't beg you to copy their parenting style.

Parents, stay strong and don't be afraid to get that computer front and center in the living room right now and you will never again have to wonder what your kids post on their AOL profiles and with whom they are chatting through IM.