I agree 100% with your post, Robert. We use OpenDNS in our household and it obviously helps quite a bit but I already had a few "small talks" with my 9 year old daughter about the "bad stuff" on the internet. No talk can fully prepare a child for what they may see or experience out there but it can certainly help with having your kid make the right choice when faced with such a situation. - Radek Papiez

I am glad that the movement is swinging away from just only trying to prevent our children from experiencing the dark side of the internet. We need to place reasonable safeguards as well as opening the lines of communication between parents and children. I work in a school and see every day how hard many parents find it to have uncomfortable discussions with their teenagers. I would love to see a resource that helps encourage and facilitate a positive and open communication between parents and their kids. - Phillip Miller

Magid's been talking about Interney safety education - both on the mobile and fixed web - over prevention for years. Curious to see what you think of his take on things? - Julie Matic

this is where Glubble will help you. We provide parents the tools to support their children discover the web and social networking. Instead of locking children or the computer down, or trying to be the experts for parents, we let parents take the responsibility and build a safe and fun web for their children. This way parents can teach their children to be good citizens in the online world. Glubble is directly integrated into Firefox and comes with safe browsing, search, fun content, twitter, and photo sharing for families, and more. You can check it out here: www.glubble.com Or look at this video: http://www.glubble.com/learn_m... Sorry for the plug, but it fits the discussion. - Alexander van Elsas

Kids are part of the problem themselves. At my school lots of trouble begins online at social media sites and can even end in fighting. Othertimes it's the other way round. A child is bullied at school and then bullied online too. - Donald Townsend from twhirl

Our kids are only allowed to use the computer in the public areas of our house (ie. not their rooms). I am not so naive to think this is the only solution, so I have had discussions with my older kids (11 & 8) about appropriate use, sites, etc. As far as them posting information online, I told them to think about this: If you wouldn't stand up in the middle of your school lunch room and share the same information with everyone, it's probably not a good idea to put it online. - Dave Gambrill

Dave, that's a good criteria. I'd extend it to say... If you wouldn't stand up in the middle of your school lunch room and share the same information with everyone and allow it to be posted on the school wall forever, it's probably not a good idea to put it online. - LogEx

Avynn's computer is in a common room, right where I can see him from my office. We have no censorship of any kind on his computer. So far the worst thing he watches is machinima based around Half Life 2 and sometimes Monty Python. He's 12 now, so we'll probably need to have a talk about porn sometime before too long. He doesn't have any friends yet who even know what email or IM is. That'll change in Middle School. - Tad

Alexander, I'll have to test that out in anticipation. I haven't given up waiting on my little miracles. :) Nice to be prepared though. Thanks for sharing! - Melanie Reed

@Tad - Watching Monty Python already, eh? Sounds like your kid'll be okay. :) - Steve Lynch from twhirl

I agree that education is the best form of prevention -- kids are smart, make sure they know how you feel (and why). - Steve Lynch from twhirl

Locking computers and the web down too much gives kids a reason to want to break free. It is so much better to give them a cool experience and teach them about their behavior on the web at the same time. My ultimate goal is for a child to be able to say that his Internet is way more cooler than mom's or dad's Internet. And parents need to be educated and get involved as well. They can't just rely on tools but should be actively involved. They want to, but often do not know how - Alexander van Elsas

As much as you try, you cannot "protect" your kids online, except by educating them. The weakest links are their friends. I've seen first hand how friends will introduce new people into a network that no one in the existing network knows. Kids don't realize that these new people are "strangers" because they assume "a friend of a friend" is safe. That's one thing I've had to teach my kids -- that friends of friends are strangers unless you know them in the "real world." - Dominic Jones

And the cc: line in emails is the most common way strangers get into your kids' networks. - Dominic Jones

Sorry to hog this, but if I can help one person it's worth it. Teach your kids never to share their passwords with their friends. They often do this for things like neopets and webkinz when they're going to be offline for a while and want a friend to take care of their "pets" or keep in good standing on Club Penguin or something. Their passwords often are the same for a variety of sites, including web mail. - Dominic Jones

I grew up before the age of social media and there was lots of bullying, malicious gossip and harassment, not to mention the creepy guy who stood on the corner in a raincoat. (of course, bringing guns to school wasn't unusual then, you just had to keep them on the gun rack) The Web is just the latest tool for bullies and pervs. - Robert Hafer

@ Robert Hafer Today, the creepy guy in a raincoat is a sweet-looking 10-year-old girl who is popular with everyone and has all the latest gadgets but absent parents. - Dominic Jones

OpenDNS for us. It's router based and my kids and wife love me for it. - Adam

Kurt, you remind me of that NYC mom who let her 9 year old ride the subway alone - Adam