f you’ve got little brats, only you think are adorable, then you know that the computer has becoming an extension of their bodies. While we can’t supervise their computer time when we are not around, there are many ways you can monitor and restrict their usage. The Internet can be a great learning tool, but children don’t always know how to use properly and can get themselves into trouble, because after all, they’re just kids. Put down that Guitar Hero; you’re the adult, remember?

Before you employ any sort of service to help you control your child’s Internet experience, you should really sit down with them and teach them safe Internet behavior. It’s important that they know that you are only trying to protect them, and that when they get older, they will gain more computer privileges.

If you are concerned that your child’s safety online and feel he or she might be doing some things that they should not, check the cookies and temporary Internet files folder to view which websites your child is visiting. You can also view a list of your child’s recently visited websites by checking the computer web history.

You should be an active parent when it comes to monitoring your child’s Internet usage, because too many kids have fallen prey to sexual predators. Check out a really great reference on PremiumHowtoGuides.com- How to Keep Kids Safe Online, which has great tips on being active in your children’s online life.

A parent’s greatest fear is a sexual predator. If this is a concern, check out an earlier Consumer-Advocate.org- Sexual Predators article, which has some great sites that can help you to prevent your children falling victim to sexual predators. As mentioned in that article, for the best sex offender reports on the Net, check out: PrivateEye.com.

Identakey is a company run by parents for parents to be proactive in protecting their children. They offer user friendly products and services that assist in the location of a missing child. They are continually seeking development and improvement of their products and services. Their main product is a portable USB drive with software designed to help you collect and securely store photographs and vital information about your family, to be used in the event of an emergency. It easily creates ID reports and missing posters.

Look, it’s up to you how you raise your kids. Just do it right and always talk to your children about the potential dangers online. Be an active parent and educate yourself and your children. Now stop hogging the video games and give me the controller; it’s my turn.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 28th, 2008 at 6:59 pm and is filed under Where Would I Be Without Friends and Family?... A Vacat. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.