Parental Controls

Despite the access that children have to information today via PCs and the internet, there are steps that can be taken to limit the access that children have to the internet and external sources.

Chat applications often have security options to limit either access during certain periods of the day or access to certain chat accounts. Many broadband routers have builtin firewall capability to limit access to websites and specific keywords. Software loggers can keep tabs on all internet usage, for all users, both outbound and inbound (for the torrent and potentially illegal P2P file transfers that can land children and parents in court).

Additionally, many games typically include small print indicating that online experiences may be outside of their ESRB rating since many of today's networked games include a chat and often VoIP (voice chat) components that permit users to speak to other members on their teams. Many of these games often include options to hide profane words in chat sessions as well as limit some of the graphic violence during gameplay.

Are you concerned about your children's internet access habits? Contact us for a consultation about securing your firewall.

In addition to fueling business and communication development, the internet has also become the primary research tool in virtually every classroom. Students no longer need to spend hours at the library searching for information, often it is readily available at their fingertips. Students of any age can find virtually any tidbit of knowledge they are looking for, from search engines, to encyclopedias, to wikipedias. What is critical for today's parents is to understand where they are permitted to look.

YouTube, MySpace, MSN Messenger, IRC, the list continues of uber-popular teen and pre-teen websites and applications that pervade today's society. While all work and no play can certainly lead to a dull life, the type of play is what is most important for today's parents. Children have access to computers from as young as age 2, and readily have access to PCs in classrooms as early as kindergarten.

The youth societal constructs now typically include the PC as its primary medium. Virtually all children have a cell phone and/or text-messaging devices in school. Many children chat with friends (not necessarily in their class or school) on their PC as a form of entertainment.
But with this comes inherent risks. Parents need to know exactly who it is they are chatting with, just as they would want to know who they are with if they were out of the home. Access to pornographic and mature subject matter should not be permitted within the home. It is not unreasonable to have the capability of accessing the internet usage logs of children within the home. While children today are growing up faster than ever, it doesn't mean that they have to deal all of adult life's complexities before they are ready.