Parental Control- Why the Computer Should Not be in a Bedroom
Never mind that the feng shui experts think that a computer in a bedroom interrupts the flow of peace and tranquility. The computer should not be in a child’s bedroom because it is too tempting to push the limits when there is not an adult milling about, ready to look over their shoulder at any minute. (POS is online slang for “parent over shoulder” by the way). Let them whine about not having any privacy. Let them whine about their rights. Let them get carried away and start hollering about the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, and you should write down what they say and keep it forever, as it will be a priceless reminder of this moment and should also be used as an example when they bring home a bad grade. This country is built on democracy, but your home, is for the safety of your children.
It is not that kids should not be on the computer at all, it is just that unattended or unsupervised children tend to make decisions that are, well, childish. They will type in naughty words in the browser. They will start up conversations with strangers, even those with screen names like Herbdaperv011 and others. They will tell their age, their birthdates and other information when asked. They will admit to feeling lonely or depressed or sad. They will even discuss the times that they are home alone. They do not realize that they are putting themselves in danger most of the time because they do not think of these things.
If you are going to have a computer in your home that your children will have access to, it should be in a public room with the understanding that you may peep at what they are doing at any time. You need to establish parental control or get rid of the computer – it is that simple. There are two major areas that you need to establish major control over, and those are the kid’s emails and the kid’s browser. You can do this in a number of ways, but the easiest way is to use programs like kids emails and kids internet browsers.
With both programs, you can protect your child and stop them from seeing sites that they should not be or getting questionable emails. Kids email programs allow you control of who your kids are emailing, and about what. You can also set a time limit on their internet use, have an activity log of when they log on and block specific people.
If your child is smart enough to spout off about the Bill of Rights but not smart enough to figure out that there is nothing in there about their right to private computer use (watch them try to work the First Amendment into that one too), they are smart enough to get around other parental controls but not smart enough to not talk to predators. It is up to you to protect them from themselves. If they want a computer in their bedroom, tell them they can have one, just as soon as they have the money to buy their own.
Jacob Andersen received a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Brigham Young University and an MBA from Utah State University. He is committed to using his knowledge and expertise to keeping kids safe online.”The safety of our children is the mission of KidsEmail.org and MyKidsBrowser.com,” Andersen said.”Any profits made are reinvested into the development and advertising of new child safety products.”
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