mamasita
06-28-07, 02:29 PM
I know this isn't specifically about "games" but there are lots of games on the internet, and there is a thread by Father Time which hits on the importance of protecting our children.
So what do you know about protecting our young online? For me the internet seems far less threatening than say, kindergarten. lol
My son has very limited access. Right now I use only mcafee's parent tools and Fox Filter (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4351) and of course my own supervision. Fox Filter searches websites for specific content. It even blocks my son's dad's bank site because there are x's in the content somewhere.
I pick the site I want my son on then I use the View menu to hide pretty much everything but the basic navigation menu (file edit view history) then I put his site on full screen mode (F11) so the only navigation he can do is by links. I check the sites I put him on 3 clicks deep and then I watch him. When he manages to navigate off a site I put him on so far he's never made it anywhere "traumatizing". And keep in mind with young children "traumatizing" is more in the eyes of the parent than in the kids eyes.
I can't say I'd flip if my son found a picture of naked people doing "interesting" things. TV shows people killing each other, tom and jerry constantly trying to end each other, and violence, and in my own opinion violence is worse! Just remember not to make a big deal of it if they do find something you don't like. You'll just pique their interest and give them the desire to figure out what's so taboo about it. Just say something like "Oh no! There's no game for you! Want help?" Trust me, they'd rather play their games at this age than watch something completely nonsensical to them that doesn't respond to their commands.
What do you have to say on the matter? Do you have any software or helpful advice for parent filtering?
Also when he gets older I'm going to make one of my geekier friends help me put a router between him and the internet to catch and store cookies and any information I can because I fully intend on snooping often to make sure when he's older and far more likely to get in trouble ON PURPOSE haha I have some clue what's up.
So what do you know about protecting our young online? For me the internet seems far less threatening than say, kindergarten. lol
My son has very limited access. Right now I use only mcafee's parent tools and Fox Filter (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4351) and of course my own supervision. Fox Filter searches websites for specific content. It even blocks my son's dad's bank site because there are x's in the content somewhere.
I pick the site I want my son on then I use the View menu to hide pretty much everything but the basic navigation menu (file edit view history) then I put his site on full screen mode (F11) so the only navigation he can do is by links. I check the sites I put him on 3 clicks deep and then I watch him. When he manages to navigate off a site I put him on so far he's never made it anywhere "traumatizing". And keep in mind with young children "traumatizing" is more in the eyes of the parent than in the kids eyes.
I can't say I'd flip if my son found a picture of naked people doing "interesting" things. TV shows people killing each other, tom and jerry constantly trying to end each other, and violence, and in my own opinion violence is worse! Just remember not to make a big deal of it if they do find something you don't like. You'll just pique their interest and give them the desire to figure out what's so taboo about it. Just say something like "Oh no! There's no game for you! Want help?" Trust me, they'd rather play their games at this age than watch something completely nonsensical to them that doesn't respond to their commands.
What do you have to say on the matter? Do you have any software or helpful advice for parent filtering?
Also when he gets older I'm going to make one of my geekier friends help me put a router between him and the internet to catch and store cookies and any information I can because I fully intend on snooping often to make sure when he's older and far more likely to get in trouble ON PURPOSE haha I have some clue what's up.