Parental control software etc.

[Scrummy Mummy]

Having got a new laptop, I'm planning to turn my old one over to Mini for games, kiddie websites etc. it will be in a public space rather than his bedroom but, although I'll be around, I won't necessarily be standing right over him.

What's the best way to protect him from inadvertently coming across porn etc? He's only 5 so too young to understand the dangers of the Internet.

(Even standing right over him is no protection; a few weeks ago he was sitting next to me on the sofa looking at cartoons on YouTube. He said "I've not seen this one before, Mummy" and was about to click on what was a rather nasty porno image which was in the most viewed category." The YouTube ion has now been disabled on iPad and iPod touch.)

[Tas]

Sounding unintentionally judgemental, but I would suggest not letting him have access at all to the internet at 5yrs, does he really need it? Surely the games are adequate at this stage? Pretty sure I did not need it at 5, I seem to remember being in the backyard or making up games with my toys... And then say access to kiddie websites only under your direct supervision.

[baloo]

Sounding unintentionally judgemental, but I would suggest not letting him have access at all to the internet at 5yrs, does he really need it? Surely the games are adequate at this stage? Pretty sure I did not need it at 5, I seem to remember being in the backyard or making up games with my toys... And then say access to kiddie websites only under your direct supervision.

You'd be surprised. Kids as young as Grade 1 are required to have PC access for school these days (in some schools at least). There's a couple of schools in Japan where 5yo's are required to have iPads and class work is done on them. Doing their own research via computer is par for course.

I know BBII is begging me to let him onto my PC because he's played with one at pre-school.

[slinky]

I think we are going to set up 2 networks in our house -- 1 for the kids' computer and their devices and the other for our computers & devices. This way we can control what they have access to at the network level and we don't have to mess with each device. (At least that what Mr. S says ) We set up the restrictions thingy on their iPods to control some of what they have access to, but stupidly, neither of us can remember the damn passcode we used, so we can't change anything until we wipe the iPods and start over

Like you, SM, I've removed YouTube from their stuff for the time being - it was just easier that way right now.

[baloo]

Most routers these days can block sites / allow sites and also on a schedule.

But setting up a second network is more fun I guess.

[Morrolan]

We're using Microsoft parental controls on little M's laptop. The iPods and pads generally go in airplane mode when he gets them.

[Pinklepurr]

Yep we use the Microsoft parental controls too. My boys are older and they have been using the internet for a long time already, the younger one since he was about 4/5. Our computers are always in a public place and we (sort of) have control over what they can watch.

YouTube is a killer, there are things on there that seem to get through any censor type thing, and believe me it is more all the other crap that I have to watch out for when they get on there. So many videos that just love to teach them how to swear at the drop of a hat. However we have never had problems with porno type stuff. Maybe they are just good at hiding it! Mind you we also have them with their own account there, and since they are underage a lot of the videos will not play anyway. Does it still block them if you are not logged in as an account holder? I know it used to but it is so long since we used it without logging in I have forgotten.

Tas, these kids now live on the internet, all their friends do it, and yes it is used so much at school now for all sorts of things, in fact we have to do maths homework via the net. Almost all schools use the internet at school, and the kids all learn how to use it, to not have it at home would probably feel a bit alien to them. There are schools here like the ones Baloo referred to that have Ipads as part of their curriculum at primary level. (thank goodness not ours so we don't have that expense).

I'm sure you have probably heard of it or already checked it out, but the Cybersmart website has some good stuff on it (even if you have to wade through some pretty obvious stuff) http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/Parents.aspx

[Scrummy Mummy]

Thanks everyone.

Don't worry Tas, I don't want him spending hours on the Internet anyway, but there are some good kiddie sites out there, and his teacher has recommended some Maths and Phonics sites. (But we do play board games and read books and look at the stars and go to the beach too ).

But technology is inevitable, and the issue is going to get bigger as he does, so might as well start now.

(Oh, and he has to have an iPad or Mac Air Book in Year 7).

Will take a look at that site, PP.

[Duck]

http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/5_7/hectorsworld/ ...Hector's World will help teach your littl'un about Internet safety, it's never to early to start this learning process, you will also find a link to Hector's World safety button, which is a brilliant download, it will pop Hector the dolphin on the screen and if your child comes across anything s/he doesn't like they click on the dolphin, and the screen is covered with a pretty aquarium scene so they can tell an adult who can then block the site.

http://www.picsearch.com/ ...is a great search engine for kids to use when trawling through the Internet, but as with most child search engines, a few clicks on the links and they're back on the unfiltered world wide web...

Getting litt'uns tech savvy at a young age is important more now than ever, otherwise they will risk exclusion from the 'digital' society, the littl'uns are the natives and we're the immigrants...

Also, let's not forget that they will also be developing their fine motor skills, whilst using iPads, laptops and computers...clearly everything in moderation.

[Scrummy Mummy]

Thanks Duck.

The last few days he's done loads of (set by school, not me) online Maths games and Phonics stuff. The computer stuff is much more fun for kids that age than books.

I'll sit down with him and go through Hector etc.

[slinky]

Little Boy S came in our room Saturday morning talking about some silly You Tube video he had been looking at on the iPad in his room that morning which was a good prompt to remind us that we need to put some controls on this stuff. I had taken the You Tube app off the iPad but left Safari on there, duh. Anyhow, we went out and got a second wireless router and have set up something that will give us some peace of mind for the next couple of years or so at least. At 8 years old, we've decided they simply don't need free reign on the internet. Basically, we can't block sites based on keywords with the router alone - you have to type in actual addresses, which is near impossible -- how do you know what to block off the top of your head?? (I guess some additional software will be necessary later) So, I've completely blocked You Tube all together for now - that place is a mine field as SM described above and without supervision, anything can come up, so now any searches that yield You Tube videos still show up in the search, but when they are clicked on a 'this page is blocked' notice comes up. In addition to that, Their devices cannot connect to the internet at all between the hours of 8pm-9am daily. This way, if they are up early on a weekend and in their rooms, they can't be surfing unsupervised.

[Scrummy Mummy]

When you get a minute, I'd love an Idiot's Guide to how you did that, Slinks!

[slinky]

When you get a minute, I'd love an Idiot's Guide to how you did that, Slinks!

I can't take much credit -- mostly I just said 'yes' and 'no' to questions from Mr. S

The router he wanted was this one - but it seems to be out of stock orredi everywhere right now....
iBoss Router

What we got was a Cisco router with parental control capability (I'll have to look at the model number when I get home) and now we have two wireless routers at home -- the original one that our computers and devices use and the new Cisco one that the kids' stuff uses.