What my Child Saw on the Internet (13-Minute Peptalk Video)

What my Child Saw on the Internet (13-Minute Peptalk Video)

How my child ended up in a scary corner of the internet, and what I’m doing about it.

 

8 comments

  1. Yikes. You may be aware of this, but it is very easy to delete individual sites visited from the Google Chrome history. Maybe check if there is a way to disable that option.

    • double yikes. I think now my kids don’t even know there is a history. But I just googled it, and there appears to be a way to make the history non-erasable. Though it looks complicated.

  2. Hi Chana Jenny,
    We also have Machon Meir for our kids and they like it. I also wanted to recommend another great website for Hebrew-speaking kids: Arutz Sheva! Our kids’ favorite are the Rav Shlomi stories. Here’s the link: http://www.inn.co.il/Children/
    Regarding the filters, we found these didn’t work for us because it made the computer browse the Web more slowly and we had to keep approving (or not) various websites. We now have one profile for us parents and a separate kids’ profile with preset websites that the kids can see. That seems to work better for us, at least for now. Thanks for the peptalk! Love your website!

  3. I’d really recommend http://webchaver.com/. I don’t think anyone can get around it: I never could, and the accountability is good for both kids and adults. If you know that a friend is going to see every page that you visited, with questionable material highlighted, it is easier to be careful!

  4. Filters are not enough. There is an organziation here in Israel who deals with the fall out of these situations with kids. He came to talk at my daughters school and he told us a few scary stories. He had some good recommendations.

    1. If you have a webcam on your computer, cover it when not in use. He told us a story of someone who was able to hack into people’s computers and use the camera to video tape them when not knowing (the light did not turn on!)

    2. Use a filter but don’t only relay on it. There is a free one called K-9 that works pretty good and doesnt slow things down too much. It keeps track of history and you cant manipulate it. You can block by keywords, subjects and individual pages. I personally use this and Netzach which is server based.

    3. Windows live family safety. It allows you to create different user for your computer users. You create a child’s profile and there you can limit his/her time on computer, what programs they use etc.. you get a report of activity and you can log in from any computer to see what is going on. It really helps to keep kids safer. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Protecting-your-kids-with-Family-Safety

    4. Disable incognito mode. You can download a program to do that. Incognito mode allows people to browse the internet without a history.

    The biggest thing he said is the computer should be in the open and not in bedrooms. Kids should not be on without a parent around and laptops are the ideal solution so that you can put it away in the end.

  5. As a parent of young children, watching your video gives me more reason not to allow internet at all. It is radioactive as you describe. And something that dangerous should not be handled by children. You can try to browse their history but by then they have already looked at thr forbidden material and have already been affected by it. You would just be in damage control mode, so that doesn’t work. You could have it out in the open but show me one parent who sits with their child while they surf the internet. They could be reading an article on such a scary subject like you mentioned and to you it would look fine from afar.
    The internet does have many wonderful qualities too. I am on it now. But as an adult I can pick and choose carefully. No filter required. We have laptops with passwords. The laptops are not out during the day and come out only after all the kids are sleeping. I know I have an uphill battle as my kids get older but morre and more I am convinced that they don’t need it and sre better off without it until they reach adulthood and can make their own decisions about it. And by the way, I do live one mile from Hollywood (no joke)!

  6. Chana,
    Thanx for this peptalk. I appreciate your honesty and open-mindedness about supervising kids’ internet use and not banning it entirely as many communities do. I’m working on this also. It’s not easy, since I do let them watch non-Jewish “innocent” shows such as Arthur and Berenstain Bears (which present issues relevant to all kids), and the older kids want to watch non-cartoon shows. I’m running out of options that don’t contain boy-girl stuff, obnoxious attitudes,or really immodest clothing.

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