Internet access for children

With just a couple of clicks you could move from this page to a site showing extreme pornography. So could your child.

The question of whether the Internet contains material unsuitable for children isn't worth asking. It contains literally millions of unsuitable pages, and many of them - specifically including the most extreme pages - are not protected by any kind of adult verification system.

Only an irresponsible parent would allow their child unrestricted access to the Internet.

The level of control you impose is up to you, but here are a few helpful tips:

Many search engines now have a family filter or safe search mechanism. Usually it's switched on by default. But of course older children may realise they can switch this filter off when you're not in the room.

It's worth asking young children to let you know straight away if they find anything on the Internet strange or disturbing. Don't criticize them for finding a bad page, instead make it clear that you're pleased they told you.

But really you want to avoid those bad pages coming up on screen in the first place. The best way to do this is to install filtering software on your computer. Here are the four top packages:

Net Nanny $35
Cyber Patrol $25
Cybersitter $40
Surfwatch $40

You can download these packages from the links above or buy them from a software retailer.

Teenagers

Abuse of trust

Report child porn