Given their ages, I agree that a good Parental Control sofware is the better choice. When they reach the 'upper teen' years, I'd consider a good monitoring software as well.



>Thanks Tracy,
>
>my daughters are 9 and 7 and just getting into searching using Google. Prior to this they only go to a few sites that are child friendly and that I allow them to go to. Recently the younger one did a search for her friend from school and just types in Rachael. Needless to say, some of the pictures on one of the sites she tried were a bit inappropriate. Prior to that they had always asked me to help them search, but now that they are getting more knowledgeable. So in their case I want to filter out as many adult/inappropriate sites as possible.
>
>I also have a 13 year old niece who is addicted to IM and RPG (Role Playing Games) so I probably want to do the monitoring for her, but from my checking up on what she gets up to, so far, she's not any trouble.
>
>We do have stringent rules of how much time they can spend on the PCs.
>
>>Are you wanting to control your child's access (limit it) or allow them total access and monitor it? There is a difference.
>>
>>
>>Look at:
>>
>>http://www.monitor-internet-usage.com/
>>
>>and a comparison:
>>
>>http://www.monitoringsoftwarereviews.org/?e=1&kw=monitor+internet+usage&s_kwcid=monitor%20internet%20usage|950369975&gclid=CNS0i8KIlJACFShsGgod7UrvAg
>>
>>
>>That doesn't rule out the parental control software though. The problem I found with parental control software was letting them get to the sites they needed for research for papers. The filtering was just too stringent and it inhibited research abilities. I decided to give my daughter free reign and then monitor it until it becomes a problem. That was at an older age though and it is a personal parenting decision each parent must make. Don't forget the rules - the computer in a central location and the hours used when you are around and can see their actions, et al...
>>
>>If you use monitoring software be prepared to sift through numerous messages (it tracks all keystrokes in instant messaging programs as well) of:
>>
>>person 1: What cha doin
>>person 2: nothin how bout u
>>person 1: nothin
>>person 2: bored
>>person 1: me too
>>
>>etc etc etc (I didn't type like they do: me 2, etc)
>>
>>>Hi,
>>>
>>>I've found a few reviews of Parental Control Software online, but was wondering if anyone here has personal experience of any that they can recommend.