Protecting Our Children Online
Posted By Jacque on February 19, 2009
2John 1
1The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth; 2For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever. 3Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. 4I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.
How we take care for our children online:
We do not allow children under the age of 15 on the computer unsupervised. Those younger than 15 are only on maybe 1 time every week or two for about 20-30 minutes. They are usually posting on their blogs or writing up an article for an online mag we write for.
They must get permission to be on the computer (and or be courteous and let us know). There is a short list of approved sites for them from when they are younger, and those are the only sites they are allowed to go to. Our computer and laptops are out in the open, and they do not take them to their rooms to be on. The approved sites do not contain provocative ads or things that would lead to other sites (which they aren’t allowed to click off of anyway). Unfortunately, that includes Photobucket, Sitemeter, Flicker, and others that we do use, so we use them for them and give them info or codes they need.
The older ones, well, they are old enough to understand the dangers of such websites. We have never allowed our children to be on their own social sites. We are a very open family when it comes to discussion of such things, and it has never been a point of contention. The girls have their own blogs and blog friends, and they are happy to have them as their social network. The 17yo and 19yo have recently gotten on FB, and we all network together on it.
One thing I have found that is a HUGE thing is Google. Even with the settings set HIGH for security, there are still things that come up in searches and images, so we don’t allow them to be on it (the younger ones).
We have basically taught them that if you shouldn’t be there, don’t use it at all. There are other resources, and they can use those. We hold them in accountability and consider it our responsibility to closely monitor them. We do the same thing with screening videos, movies, and books. It will serve them well in their lives. 
One thing that makes the difference in our family is that I am a presence in their online lives. I do not demand to be one, but because of our IRL relationships, we all WANT to be in each others’ lives online. I love my children, and I am concerned about them, and they want to share their lives with me and hold them accountable. God has greatly blessed us in this. Whenever there has been anything that may hinder this or create a wedge, we have recognized it, dealt with it and worked through it in the WORD and with each other. We all want the best for each other.
Doing all of this does not prevent sites from popping up or from their curiosity- Even if it is when they are around me when I am on the laptop. I am careful to not allow them near it whenever there may be something unsavoury. We have taken measures to cut out all resources like that in our home, including television. The internet is a different animal though. It is a lot of work, and we take a lot of time to do this with our children. We do have all passwords and access to their sites. Fortunately, as we teach them, they help monitor their younger siblings.
Though I would not change what we do to be the ones responsible for our children in this manner, I was glad to find Norton Online Family. A couple of the features I liked were the being emailed any suspicious websites and being able to go there online and look up every site your family was on! This Norton program looks good, and if you do not take the time to monitor your children all of their online activities, perhaps you should look into it!
If you do monitor your children diligently, pray for them constantly as they are online. Pray that the LORD to protect them and keep them, and if they do stumble onto a site like that, pray that they will be convicted and even sick until they tell you. It is imperative that they feel that they can go to you and tell you of it, before it becomes a secret sin of theirs!
blessings,
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Very good advices Jacque! My 4 year old has started an interest in computer games and I bookmarked a few good websites that he could use to play educational games. I have to keep him in view because one wrong link can take him somewhere else that I wouldn’t want him to be. Some people might consider that overprotective but I don’t think there’s such thing when it comes to our children
Charlenes last blog post..There is Nothing too Hard for God.
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Hi! I came across your site by your daughter’s site. I found her site becuase she designed A High & Noble Calling (Beautiful!), and on and on but anyway I digress =) I just wanted to say thank you for setting an example. I am a new Christian, learning and stumbling quite a bit along the way, as well as a Single Mom with two boys, and you are an inspiration as a Mom! I know in my heart if I would have had Christ my life things would have been different but I have faith He will lead me on the way. I may stumble and fall but He’s always there holding my right hand =) I digress again (Hmmm seems like a pattern!) Ok back on topic, your advise on the net is so very true- as parents we must be ever vigilant or we put our children in danger without equipping them with the skills to overcome it. I didn’t realize this beforehand and let my teenage son go on AOL without checking him. That has since changed. As He said we should raise our child in the way and that includes the net… and I put my faith on Him to protect them, convict them and hold them but as the parent I also have a duty (tiring but worth it!). Again, thank you for being an inspiration- based on your daughter’s site you are truly a woman who can be called Victorious! God bless you and your family always!
Migdalias last blog post..Freebie Friday with Latinalicious Freebies for Feb. 20, 2009
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