Posted on 06/30/2009 8:21:49 PM PDT by killermosquito
I've got two kids (12 and 10) and we are moving about 800 miles away from their friends. They want to be able to stay in touch so I am thinking about letting them have email addresses BUT with conditions.
Is there a safe way to allow kids this age to surf the web and email? I just looked at my gmail spam box and I'm having second thoughts.
What are your suggestions? Spam filters? Web filters?
Is there a way to only allow access to specified incoming email and specified web sites? I'll take all the help I can get.
Would you mind pinging the tech crowd? (it’s for the children!) Thanks
You can set up all their incoming mail to be copied to them and you both. This is transparent to the sender and your kid (though you should tell the kid you are doing this).
You can do this with a GoDaddy.com account, and no doubt other places.
You won’t see their outgoing, but all incoming.
You might also want to look into the “Family Safety” application from Microsoft.
And while I have you here, my daugher has saved $600 and she wants a laptop. I’m a Microsoft kind of guy and am partial to DELL. I would like to see here go with 64bit Windows Ultimate. Your thoughts?
Worked for me. My kids all completed a run through Uncle Sam's home for wayward kids successfully.
/johnny
BTTT! Curious too as to input from others...we’re also moving 800 miles away.
I am pretty sure you can set up the email to only allow those addresses in you address book to enter.
Try looking at setting and setting up a test email to make sure.
M kids/grandkids are still to young to worry about this, but in a few years.....
Load linux at the first chance.
/johnny
My daughters have used the kids aol mail and that has worked well. You have to add the addresses of their friends in order for them to receive that mail. So no e-mails from strangers. I am NOT a techie but this worked for us.
There are all sorts of filters and nannies but (and I say this from experience) the best thing is to sit with them when they are on the ‘net.
Resourceful kids can get around even the best of counter-measures.
I think you can get free aol mail (for yourself) and then add email accounts for your kids that you can administer so they can only get email from people you put in their address book.
http://www.safetyclicks.com/2009/06/04/are-your-kids-ready-to-be-online-this-summer/
surfing the internet is a whole other story...
Will you have wireless? If you do, you could keep the computer in your room in your dresser and bring it out after work where you assist them with writing e-mails to their friends and only bring it out during the times you literally sit with them. That is about the safest way to have your kids have computer time.
I don’t get a lot of spam because I have a good spam filter. Email isn’t the main problem if they are writing to people they already know.
It’s when they enter chatrooms and message boards that trouble can happen.
Do not allow them to have privacy when they use the computer.
Have them browse in the same room as the parents.
Make sure you have the username and passwords of their email accounts (and any other accounts). Check their email regularly.
It wouldn’t hurt to have a key logger installed without their knowledge and check up on them regularly.
OpenDNS. Free.
Keep in mind that the ‘free email’ services charge you a hefty price in loss of privacy: they sell your pageview and click information to ad networks who may sell it to yet others. Check Yahoo, Hotmail and other Privacy Policies and you’ll see what I mean. There is no truly free lunch.
For a Conservative, family-friendly ISP/email and other resources, see my profile page.
Go to this link for American Family Association web filter and great info on protecting children:
http://bsecure.com/offers/afafilter.aspx?13850
Make sure they understand that it isn't "their" computer and they will use it ever now and then.
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