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QOTW: Are you comfortable with your kids using the Internet?

by Parm Mann on 23 November 2012, 16:30

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More and more children are becoming interested in today's gadgets. I've got an iPad, a laptop and a BlackBerry smartphone in the house, and I know that if my two-year-old niece is coming to visit, there's a good chance I'll have to surrender them all.

I know an 11-year-old who received an iPad for Christmas last year, and a nine-year-old who now wants an iPhone. They're both already on Facebook (so much for the minimum age of 13), and their use of technology doesn't appear to be uncommon; whether it be youngsters or teenagers, today's kids are accustomed to Internet access.

So let's hear it from the mums and dads; are you comfortable with your kids using the Internet? Whether you're the type to let them browse freely or the kind of parent who closely monitors their activities, we want to hear your thoughts on the subject so have your say using the comments section below.

HEXUS Forums :: 13 Comments

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Posted by blokeinkent - Fri 23 Nov 2012 16:39
I have 2 daughters aged 10 & 11 who use the internet, relatively moderated in both content and time allowed…. and it frightens the fook out of me to be honest! My 10 year old is still quite girly girly and sticks to appropriate sites, my 11 year old is getting more curious.

I often have a wander through her history which makes me feel really uncomfortable but I still think she's too young to ‘let go’ more.

The worst thing is Youtube! I don't use it too often but she wrote a comment a couple of months ago, just a simple child comment in an age appropriate clip, and the reply was from some scumbag asking for a blow job. I reported it to Youtube who did sweet F.A. about it. Reading through nearly any clip's comments after a paragraph or 2 results in the most vulgar or racist language from cretins.

Try as I might I couldn't find a way to disable comments properly and have resorted to element hiding through ad block plus, which is a very fiddly way of doing things and is still hard to keep on top of when so many sites these days, no matter how innocent, rely on social aspect letting everyone post comments, usually unmoderated. Being a parent these days has just got a lot harder, but I refuse to join the ever increasing crowd of chavvy parents who think “oh well, out of site out of mind”
Posted by Ferral - Fri 23 Nov 2012 17:02
I have 2 kids with access to the net at home.

My daughter got her laptop Christmas before last and when I was checking the history to see what she was doing found a link to a rather vulgar image. Needless to say that she is not allowed the machine in her bedroom anymore. I did install a web protection software on it but somehow she managed to bypass it, to this day we don't know whether it was her or her brother that was looking for that stuff.

We are now using K9 Web Protection which allows us to time restrict net access, block specific sites and it also blocks Google searches for anything that has profanity or lurid type material. Its a REALLY good free program, recommend it to any parent out there.
Posted by tealsteam - Fri 23 Nov 2012 18:13
I've recently bought a Spamdroid tablet for my 7yo sister, Found a perfect little app which allows me to control what she has access to, it replaces the home screen, so she can't get out of it, I add the apps and whitelist pages to what she can see to browse the web, I don't monitor what she is doing, thats taking away her privacy, (yes im talking about privacy with a 7 yo) this way i know what she's allowed on so I can let her be with the tablet.
Posted by Ricco - Fri 23 Nov 2012 20:11
Its a minefield (as others have already described) WITHOUT the social sites included.
My two sons are both under the age of 11, yet I restrict them passively with filtering.

Its quite tricky even for someone with my years of experience to get right, so it also does scare me for the other naive parents that do not have a check on what the kids are up to.
I know some parents who have less a clue on anything technical then their 8,9,10year olds - so little chance of their children not bumping into something they should not really see or read.
Posted by iamlorro - Fri 23 Nov 2012 21:47
I dont let my daughter go on the internet at all - without sitting with her.


she is only 7 months old though!

Thanks for the tip Ferral - saves time on research later!

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