Ever do a Google image search only to be appalled by some of the results? I know I have! As a parent, I do not want my children to accidentally stumble across any inappropriate content such as pornography! I believe it is our job as parents to be proactive and do our best to prevent our children from getting into trouble and/or being exposed to unnecessary "trash"!
We obviously can't shelter our children from all the junk that is out there in this world but we can do our part to avoid it wherever possible. Even though my kiddos are still in diapers, it is never too early to start preventive measures. We found ourselves turning our daughter around in her high chair during commercials on TV which were not so good and finally we decided to get rid of the TV altogether. This was a hard decision to make at first as we had a few favorite shows but after a few weeks we didn't miss it at all. However, now we spend a lot more time on our computers and there can be just as much "junk" floating around on the internet as there is on TV.
One great tool we have found to help prevent this is called K9 Protection. It is a free download for Windows and Mac users that allows you to set up filters on specific content areas. You can even tell it to "always block" certain websites and "never block" others. You set up a password that only you know so you can go in and change filters whenever you want like when you ground your child from Facebook for a week and want to ensure they can't get on it! Another great feature is their "time restrictions" block where you can block use of the internet after a certain time of day (great for when your child is suppose to be sleeping but has a computer in their room:).
You can get custom reports of the websites that have been visited and you can override any blocked page with your password. Just make sure to keep your password in a place where your kids can't find it! If you are a mom of boys and/or have a husband, you need to remember that men are visual so why not help them by getting rid of any temptations? I know I shouldn't eat ice cream but when my hubby buys it for me and I know it's in the freezer just waiting to be eaten it is hard for me to resist! If we never bought it and didn't have it in our house it wouldn't be nearly as big of a temptation...see where I'm going? Let's help safeguard our loved ones the best we can! Check out K9 protection by clicking here.
