What can parents do to manage their children’s use of the Internet?

PointSmart.ClickSafe. recommends parents approach managing Internet use through three steps:

• Control – Set rules and expectations for what your children can and cannot do when online.  And, manage the usage of the Internet through parental control software.

• Education – Get smarter about your family’s use of the Internet and help your child learn how to safely and productively use the Internet.

• Choice – Help your child make the right choices by recognizing appropriate and inappropriate online behavior.

How can parents prevent children from viewing content on the Internet that is inappropriate?

If you’re a cable Internet customer, parental control software offered by your local cable operator can manage and monitor Internet usage.  This software is easily installed onto a home computer.  To find out what software is available, parents should contact their local cable company.

What does parental control software do?

Parental control software allows content to be filtered through blocking particular websites based on age-appropriateness or content.  Parental controls also allow parents to limit their child’s web surfing to particular hours of the day or pre-set time limits.  Additionally, some types of parental controls give parents the ability to view reports of what sites were visited and what sites were blocked.