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How to keep your kids out of the Net's bad neighborhoods
Off To See The Wizard

No way are you a knee-jerk Luddite who demonizes the Net. Not you. No chance. Nope. But you do worry about your 11-year-old. She's a great kid and you'd just as soon she didn't have to confront some of the Net's disturbing material just yet. It's not the photos of bare breasts you're worried about or even many of the shoot-em-up superhero animations and games. It's that stuff that makes even you want to throw up.

How do you protect your children on the Net? You may feel inclined to tandem surf or hold your child's hand every step of the way. But that's not going to happen.

You know better than to rely on Must be 18 warnings to filter the Internet. If Anything Goes is the Net's motto, will your great kid, reared on Barney and broccoli, end up with an eyeful of smut.com? Or worse?

You've heard there are ways to keep undesirable stuff out, but you're skeptical. How can you tell if your kids will be forbidden ancient Greek statues but allowed some real horror? What can you do, short of lobbying Congress to nuke the Net?

Don't panic. Before you drop-kick your monitor, use it to research and plan, just as you wish kids would. You'll find a range of tools -- some free -- and folks who understand. In the process, you'll most likely add a few technical moves to your parental repetoire.

After all, you want that great child to have the advantages of Internet use for kids: reference for reports and homework, communication with friends and family, pursuit of interests, and -- need we say? -- entertainment.

So go ahead and get this question resolved for your family. Soon enough you're bound to have something else to worry about, like your kid's best friend's brother getting a motorcycle.



-- Catherine deCuir is a senior contributing reviewer and mother of two. Her work has appeared in two dozen publications.

Here's How - Click for more!
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Here's How - Click for more!
Catherine deCuir tells how
to get it done on the Net:
How can I protect my kids without advocating censorship?
How can I set a browser to filter sites?
How can I filter rated sites using software?
How can I use key-word blocking for inappropriate sites?
How can I keep track of my children's Net habits?
How do I stay informed about the Internet as it relates to kids?

Snappy Picks

Safety first
Child Safety on the Information Highway
CyberAngels
Internet Lifeguard
Kids and Parents on the Web
Lawrence Magid's "Child Safety on the Information Highway"
Safety 4 Kids
Street Smart on the Web

On a scale of one to four
CyberNOT
Platform for Internet Content Selection (PICS)
Recreational Software Advisory Council
SafeSurf
Voluntary Content Ratings (VCR)

Blocking the bad stuff
Bess, The Internet Retriever
Client Software Based on PICS
Cyber Patrol
CYBERSitter
KinderGuard
Net Nanny
Rated-PG
SurfWatch
InternetNET
Internet WatchDog
Net Shepherd

Look, Mom! Look, Dad!
Family Planet
FamilyWeb
Guiding Children Through Cyberspace
Mother & Child Online
Parent Soup: Online Guide
PlanetView

Links are for kids
The Canadian Kids Home Page
Cool Places For Kids
KidLink
Kids Did This! Hotlist
Kids' Space
The Kids on the Web
Inkspot For Young Writers
WebINK
Yahooligans!
Youth Central
Ultimate Children's Internet Sites

Newsgroups for kids
alt.comp.shareware.for-kids
alt.kids-talk
misc.kids.computer
misc.kids.info
schl.kids.kidcafe
school.pupils


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