family time
access to a sort of message board
that, when I scrolled through it, made
the blood drain from my face. The conversations taking place—all between
kids in her school—were like those you’d
find on a porn site, with the foulest, most
graphic talk about sex you can imagine. My daughter was not participating
in these lewd conversations but she
was certainly scrolling through them as
she communicated with her friends.
I had no idea how long Carlie had
been exposed to this filth, or how
much she even understood. Jim and I
confronted her and she seemed con-
fused and embarrassed. She also
didn’t understand why it was so wrong
that she had lied in order to open a
Facebook page. Her explanation was
that all the other kids in school were
doing it. We had her close her account
and I called some of the parents whose
children were also participating (who
were as shocked as I was).
Online Safety Supplies
We asked Parry Aftab, executive director of WiredSafety, to recommend tools that help you restrict your children’s Internet
access or monitor their online activity. The first thing you should do, she says, is set the parental controls on your
computer. If it runs Windows Vista, you can use these functions (located under User Accounts) to limit computer use to
specified times of day and to choose which computer programs or websites your child can access. Parental controls
on Macs (located under System Preferences) can be set to automatically filter out adult websites or to allow access only to
websites you specify. But other software you can buy can bring you even more peace of mind.
For Blocking
Websites
McAfee Family
Protection, $40
In addition to allowing
you to block different
categories or types
of objectionable
websites (such as
adult or gambling), this
software can filter
content inappropriate
for children under 18
on sites like You Tube.
For Monitoring
Computer Activity
Spector Pro, $100
This soft ware
automatically records
websites, e-mail,
i-chats and search
terms—even every
keystroke your child
types. Its most popular
feature is screen
snapshot surveillance,
which shows you
exactly what your
kid does online,
step by step, with
video playback.
For Safer
Browsing
KidZui, free
Instead of using
Internet Explorer or
Firefox, parents can
go to kidzui.com to
download this browser
and search engine
designed especially
for kids. It offers
access to more than
two million games,
websites and videos
that have been
reviewed by parents
and teachers.
—Sonia Harmon
ISTOCK PHOTO
84 LADIES’ HOME JOURNAL
SEPT 10
