[PLUG] Child Proofing my Home Network

[Greg Helledy <gregsonh@gra-inc.com>]

> I'm struggling through these issues now, too.  I always thought that I
> would just keep the "PC" in the family room.  But, now, there is a web
> browser in every pocket, and on every device with a screen.  Not to
> mention 4G and random social apps; How do you filter that?

*Make it clear that getting a web browser in one's pocket is something 
that's earned, and can be taken away if misused.
*Children should have wifi-only internet access, which can be restricted 
to certain times of day and week at the router level.  I saw on a 
commercial that the Kindle allows a parental control setup, where a 
child gets only X time per day before the device locks them out.  This 
doesn't seem very hard to do, maybe more devices will offer that in the 
future.
*Domain-level filtering is crude but better than nothing, and trivial 
with alternate DNS providers.
*Teens with cellular data should be told that keeping inappropriate 
content from younger siblings is expected of them.  They will almost 
certainly password-protect their devices anyway, preventing younger kids 
from using them to access what they can't over wifi.
*Also make it clear that curiosity is natural.  If they want to see 
something and find that it's being blocked, they should ask a parent 
about it.  Maybe they can visit the site with a parent.

Even this isn't perfect.  A kid who gets access to unrestricted wifi 
could use the opportunity to download content onto the device, for 
future reference when at home.  In that case, filtered, time-restricted 
wifi doesn't fix the problem.  Yes, there's no ideal solution.

--
Greg Helledy
GRA, Incorporated
P:  +1 215-884-7500
F:  +1 215-884-1385
www.gra.aero

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