What parents can do to save their children from objectionable stuff on the internet?

Is there really that much pornography (or other objectionable content) on the Internet? and how parents can save their children from pornography and other objectionable stuff is discussed at this post.

There is a vast amount of pornographic material easily available on the Internet. Although many pornographic sites demand credit cards for full access, there are lots of free sites and “sneak peeks” available online.

Trying to control porn in a global medium like the Internet is difficult at best. Most Internet pornography, while offensive and distasteful to many users, is not illegal.

A research study shows that the older the kids, the more likely they are to pay purposeful visits to pornography sites (the figures almost triple between Grade 7 and Grade 11 for boys). Teens are more prolific and diverse Internet users than younger kids – and they are less likely to be supervised – which means they have more opportunities to encounter this sort of content through their online activities.

To contextualize pornography, we have to recognize that today’s children and youth live in a highly sexualized media culture where the lines between pornography and popular entertainment have become increasingly blurred.

Perhaps more importantly for most parents, is the reality that frequent unintentional exposure to pornographic sites is unavoidable. Once again, making sure your children know how to handle this is crucial.

A recent British study determined that the average teen there spent 87 hours/year, looking at porn on the Internet. That's an hour and 40 minutes a week.

What should parents do?

• Banning all access to the Internet is one solution. Unfortunately, this draconian approach carries with it a huge educational disadvantage; the Internet today is the greatest single educational reference resource available. More information, from more sources, is available here than in any library in the world.
• Personally supervising all Internet access is another solution. This is great, if you have the time.
• Installing a software filter, to provide a technology fix, is another possiblity.
• Block pop-ups, which are commonly used by pornographic sites.
• Set up the computer in a busy area of your home – never in a child’s bedroom.
• Use kid-friendly search engines and Web browsers or adult search engines that provide filtering options like Google. Test the different search engines to see which ones give the best results.
• Talk to librarians or teachers and create a directory of good kids’ sites by bookmarking them on your computer. But be aware that porn distributors often purchase expired domain names, including those of kids’ sites.
• At a minimum, make sure your children know your feelings about it, and what your expectations are for their behavior.

Source: 'Super Kids'

Useful links and resources:

* Exposure to pornography

* Internet porn stats: should parents be concerned?

* 'Safe Families.org' helping you keep children safe online.

* PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM PORNOGRAPHY AND SEXUAL PREDATORS ON THE INTERNET

Download free parental control software to keep your kids safe online

 It is really difficult to keep our kids safe online as we cannot monitor all the time what they are doing online?
Parental control softwares usually block unwanted or adult sites but you need to be informed about their activities while surfing online. 'Norton' software developers has created parental control software to help them keep safe online. Before getting more information about the software, just check these statistics:

Some facts about use of computer and internet among our kids:

• Kids spend an average of 40 hours a month online.
• 32% of teens clear the browser history to hide what they do online from their parents
• 63% of teens surveyed admit they know how to hide what they do online from their parents
• 22% of teen girls say they have sent or posted nude or seminude pictures or videos of themselves online.
• 32% of teens surveyed said they’d been bullied, threatened or otherwise harassed online. Yet less than half of those teens reported it to their parents or another adult

 

 It’s important for you to know how your kids are spending their time online, and best way is to educate them. Another important step is to monitor their online activities. "Norton Online Family" offers a free software for all parents to keep their kids safe online. 
 
How it works?

 

- See your kids’ online activities at a glance: Easy-to-read activity reports give you the inside scoop on what your kids do online. In just minutes, you can find out what sites your kids visit, what they search for, who they chat with*, and what social networking sites they spend time at. You’ll get to know your kids better and gain a deeper understanding of their online interests, so you can protect and guide them

 

- Whether you’re at work, out of town, or simply away from home, you can log into Norton™ Online Family and see what your kids are up to online, in real-time. You’ll see what web sites they visit, what they search for, who they chat with* and more. It only takes a minute. And you can check in anytime, from any computer connected to the Internet or your smart phone.

 

 Norton Online Family alerts you via email when your kids do something they shouldn’t, such as attempting to visit a blocked site or exceeding their allotted computer time.

 

'Norton Online Family' says:
We want all parents to be able to protect their children and provide a safer Internet experience for them. So we’re offering Norton™ Online Family to all families, free of charge.

 

 Do you want to install Norton Safety Minder? This software is easy to install and use and it is only 11.6 MB.

 

 DOWNLOAD NORTON SAFETY MINDER

The world’s largest Internet Safety site “Wired Kids”

It is very difficult to search at the net for safe sites, because even parents and teachers need some guideline, to look for safe and entertaining, educational sites. "Wired Kids.org" can be a great help for parents, educators and children, because it provides links to safe and entertaining sites from all over the net.

Wired Kids, Inc is a U.S. charity dedicated to protecting all Internet users, especially children, from cybercrime and abuse. It operates several programs and Web sites designed to help everyone learn how to protect their privacy and security online and to teach responsible Internet use.

WiredKids: The Ultimate Online Safety Project Dedicated to Kids, Tweens & Teens

The Internet really is presenting parents with the opportunity for "quality time for the new millennium. The Internet is a wondrous tool. It exposes our children to new idea's, cultures and people. But, it also exposes them to dangers.In this section you will learn everything you need to now give your kids "Net Smarts".
Safety Information for Parents

There are six types of risks our children face online:
1. They can access information that might be inappropriate for them. This includes pornography, hate, intolerance, bigotry, gore, violence, hoaxes, and misinformation and hype.
2. They can access information, do things, and purchase products that might be dangerous to them. There are sites that offer bomb-building recipes, sites that sell guns, alcohol, poisons, tobacco products and drugs, and sites that offer gambling online.
3. They can be stalked and harassed by people (often other children) who are rude, insulting, and make threats, or may send them viruses or hack their computers.
4. They can give up important and private information by filling out forms and entering contests online, and, as a result, be targeted by irresponsible marketers using unfair marketing techniques.
5. They can be scammed or defrauded when they buy things online, and risk disclosing our important financial information to others, like credit card and pin numbers and passwords.
6. They can be lured by cyber predators who want to meet them face-to-face.

Parents need to deal with the fact that your children might be intentionally accessing inappropriate sites, doing dangerous things, and putting themselves at risk. That's the nature of children. (It's especially the nature of teenagers!)

To know more and download "parenting online guide book":
Click here

For Teachers:
Educators section

Search engines where you can search for childrens sites, suggested by "Wired KIds.org:
Search engines

Site link:
WiredKids: The Ultimate Online Safety Project Dedicated to Kids, Tweens & Teens

Sites and links providing help for safe internet use!

Whenever I log on to "internet explorer" and start browsing, as a parent often this question strikes my mind "how can we save our new generation from bad sides of internet?". Because the Internet offers kids many opportunities for learning, constructive entertainment, and personal growth. At the same time,there are risks, kids face online. Our duty as a parent or teacher is to educate themselves and our children about how to use the Internet safely.

My son is only 8 years old, but I am really worried about him, when he would start browsing the internet. And being a teacher I think this is my duty to spread the knowledge to everyone who want to learn "safe internet use" and want to safe their children from misuse of internet. So this post is part of my articles providing you links and resources where you can get information about this topic.

* Microsoft is also concerned about this fact that some guidance is essential at family level. So go to this link:
This post is about social networking sites, which have become a hot trend among teens. Guidelines from Microsoft

* Another detailed guide provides you information about:
- Age-based guidelines for kids' Internet use

- Kids and gaming: Help kids play it safe

- Help kids deal with hateful content

Get it here: Parental supervision and age-based guidance

* Get Net Wise.org is a public service brought to you by a wide range of Internet industry corporations and public interest organizations. This site provides you safety tips for kids, teens, and families. You also get information about "Risks relating internet use, technology risks, and privacy informations.

- Online Safety Guide where you
learn about the risks kids face online, based on age levels or types of activities. Concerns about privacy are addressed as well. Also: Quick tips for kids, teens, and families.
- At Tools for family you can search or browse for Internet safety products, including those that filter explicit or violent content, monitor a child's Internet access, or limit time online. See sample contracts for kids' Internet use.

- At Web sites for kids you can check out links to great sites families can visit together! Explore educational or entertaining Web sites for kids, teens, and families.

- Reporting trouble section is where you learn how to identify online trouble and get law enforcement contact information. Find national child advocacy groups that can help you recognize and report online trouble.

More useful links and sites:

* Great web sites for kids

* More internet safety sites

* A discussion board where you can get in touch with the like minded people who are also concerned about safe internet use.

- Connect Safely forum

* Few more links: Click here