Cottonwood Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Had a convo with a friend recently that got me wondering what other moms do, if anything, to control their kids' internet activity. I'm not really talking about how much time per day, but how to prevent them from accidentally (or intentional) wandering onto a site they shouldn't be on, do you have hours that the devices should be off? How do you enforce it? How to make sure the content is appropriate to your values, etc, etc. Also, the mom referred me to the Funamo app. Does anyone have experience or a review to offer about that app? Suggestions or reviews of other similar apps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottonwood Posted March 4, 2015 Author Share Posted March 4, 2015 bumpity bump bump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocassie Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 At this point (my oldest is 7), we have the sites we've approved on the bookmark bar. The kids just click on which site they want. Occasionally the oldest has asked about this site or that site she has seen on a some marketing material (commercials, cereal boxes, etc.) In that case, I have told her I or DH will check it out and let her know if it's okay. There isn't a whole lot of searching going on yet, but I do know that DH has a filter on our router that allows us to filter specific websites, words and images as well as security against malware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 We are mostly past the Internet-policing stage with just DD13 at home. Not that she couldn't GET into trouble, but.... We made it a point to educate the kids young on the Internet. Showed them (briefly!) the types of things that were out there that they needed to avoid, how not to give out information online, hover over links to make sure they go where they are supposed to.... All that stuff. We took the time to show the kids how easy it is to follow everything that a person does online. Router logs, key loggers, password hacks, all the things DH and I could think of so they understood that the Internet Is Forever and Nothing You Do Is Private. Then we instituted the Free Pass. If you are on the computer and get into Something Bad, run get mom or dad and we will fix it. And no one ever gets in trouble for it. All that education plus keeping all Internet-capable devices in the open in the family area has been sufficient over the years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottonwood Posted March 4, 2015 Author Share Posted March 4, 2015 We are mostly past the Internet-policing stage with just DD13 at home. Not that she couldn't GET into trouble, but.... We made it a point to educate the kids young on the Internet. Showed them (briefly!) the types of things that were out there that they needed to avoid, how not to give out information online, hover over links to make sure they go where they are supposed to.... All that stuff. We took the time to show the kids how easy it is to follow everything that a person does online. Router logs, key loggers, password hacks, all the things DH and I could think of so they understood that the Internet Is Forever and Nothing You Do Is Private. Then we instituted the Free Pass. If you are on the computer and get into Something Bad, run get mom or dad and we will fix it. And no one ever gets in trouble for it. All that education plus keeping all Internet-capable devices in the open in the family area has been sufficient over the years. We've done a ton of this type of education as well. Devices stay in living room as well. Worked for one kid, other kid ..nope. We are using Funamo at the moment b/c you can set it up as uniquely as you need to...super buttoned up, or super relaxed, or in between. One kid definitely needs a bit more monitoring. Just putting feelers out for a variety of options and get some perspective on others' rules and what has worked, or hasn't! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkermamaof4 Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 bump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gentlemommy Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 Our big girls, 7 and 10, have iPad minis. I disabled Safari completely. They both take their iPads to bed with them to read on the kindle app, and I didn't like them being alone in their room with access to the wide Internet world. Both have been totally trustworthy, but I figured it was best to prevent any mishaps and start off as we intend to continue-Internet stuff must be done in common areas of the house. They know they can come to us and we will enable it if they want to look stuff up. They have a few games on there, but don't know the password, so all purchases/downloads need to be parent approved. For now, they simply set the timer for however long they are allowed, and have been 100% on turning it off when it rings, so that's not an issue. We have agreed on 1 hour of game/video time per day and unlimited reading until 9:30 pm, when the set alarm goes off to remind them. At the beginning of the day, they set the timer to 60 minutes and are allowed to use it however they want. All at once, all in the afternoon, or whatever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 We use K-9. We have also set up the computer so it is locked except at certain times of the day. We do not allow net based gaming, either. And the kids have their own account on the computer. All this is because we have had problems with a child accessing p0rn. However, all this is not full proof. Look at the banner ads. I printed off some info for DS about "Famous People of Nigeria" for a report and it was about 5 pages long. It didn't occur to me to look at the pages after they were printed. All of the sudden a couple days later I looked at the bottom of the last page and there were some lovely pictures down there. And then I went on "history" and there were some.... er...websites that were able to be accessed because of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Ariel Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 We are using Funamo now and it works well, but if your child knows how to do a reset on their cell phone and you are not diligent about checking the website and phone daily or more, they can get back onto anything. Don't ask me how I know... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottonwood Posted April 29, 2015 Author Share Posted April 29, 2015 So far the kids only have tablets, however ..what is a reset? I mean, how do u do one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Ariel Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 It reverts a phone to its original settings, removes all data and info added to the phone, makes it like it was when it was new. I don't know the exact steps but it may involve pushing certain buttons, perhaps removing the battery. A techy kid could do it. It would remove the Funamo app. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 We used both k9 and Net Nanny when DD was younger. Both of those worked well. Then we switched to webwatcher when older (14-15). Webwatcher doesn't block as much as just monitor. We wanted her to start learning to use judgment and be able to handle the "real internet" so to speak. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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