How to Regain Parental Internet Control

Author: Donald Mills

If you have young children around the internet when you are not there to monitor them, you may find yourself feeling a little unsure about the most appropriate way to monitor them or explain to them what your concerns are about the content they may stumble across. Without sounding like an alarmist, it's been documented that the average age of a child's first exposure to pornography on the net is 11 years old.

If you have young children around the internet when you are not there to monitor them, you may find yourself feeling a little unsure about the most appropriate way to monitor them or explain to them what your concerns are about the content they may stumble across. Without sounding like an alarmist, it’s been documented (by familysafemedia.com) that the average age of a child’s first exposure to pornography on the net is 11 years old. Considering this, parental internet control is essential in allowing our kids to live their young lives as a childhood.

Clearly, this is a complex situation, since pornography sites are not going to disappear overnight, if at all. The good news is that there are steps you can take to limit or end your child’s exposure to pornography. Banning the computer altogether is undesirable, especially since there are some great sites that can really help your child with homework assignments and other learning goals.

Here are some rational things you can do:

• Invest in good internet pornography filter software. The good ones will work with all web browsers, and be effective against internet pornography as well as file-sharing software.
• Establish some online rules for your children. You establish rules when you teach your child how to use the stove or a pair of scissors, so why not when they use the internet? There are many fun and free online resources for children that you can lead them to as acceptable to discourage them from seeking out sites that feature pornography or violent acts.
• Monitor the surfing history of your children. If you have internet explorer, you can check the surfing history by pressing the button up top that looks like a clock with a downward facing arrow. Your child may be savvy enough to erase their surfing history; this is a strong warning signal. This is also ineffective in the sense that it comes after the fact; to prevent in the first place requires filter software that doesn't allow the sites to come up in the first place.
• Keep the computer in a common area. This may be easier said then done if your child has a computer in their room in order to do homework in peace. Still, if it's possible without sacrificing the child's studies, it is a very effective deterrent.

Always remember that banning internet access altogether will only serve to pique their curiosity more, as well as breed resentment. It can be difficult to imagine your child accessing some of the sites that pop up on the net without any context with which to understand it, but realistically internet surfing is not something that the whole family gathers around to do together. Follow the tips above to the best of your ability and you should be able to keep your child a child for a little while longer.

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