Do you have young children?
Would you like to keep them safe on the internet?
Of course you would.
Now, whilst I doubt there is anything you can do that will guarantee a 100% safe experience for your children all of the time, there are certain methods you can employ to improve their internet security.
One of my recent posts was quite comprehensive in that respect but threw up some interesting questions about whether we, as parents, should spy on our kids?
(You can read all about that through this link: What Every Parent Needs To Know About Protecting Their Kids Online)
I personally feel that it is ok to watch what my kids are doing, even covertly, if the situation justifies taking that stance.
There are alternative methods you could employ though, especially if your children are quite young.
WHY YOU NEED TO CONTROL YOUR KID’S SURFING
One of those methods, the one I’m writing about today, is to use a child-safe browser.
Children, at least the younger ones, are generally blissfully unaware of the various dangers on the internet, such as -
- Pornography and other inappropriate images, videos and messages
- Cyber bullying
- Identity theft and other unwelcome acts that come about from divulging too much information
- Other illegal activities and behaviour
The browsers that we as parents use, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome, etc, are designed with adults in mind.
Whether we succumb to any of the above hazards is therefore down to us as individuals and is not a reflection of which browser we have chosen to use.
But what if there was a browser that could keep us or, more importantly, our kids, safe?
Fortunately such browsers do exist.
CHILD-SAFE BROWSERS
What exactly, though, is a child-safe browser?
Basically, a browser suitable for kids will allow your child to only surf the sites that you have allowed via a set of filters.
Most of these kid-safe browsers are programmed in a way that prevents adware, spyware and other such nuisances in addition to blocking all forms of questionable web content.
They typically come with popup blockers set up and offer a high level of parental control.
Finally, they only allow your kids to surf pre-approved sites.
WHICH KID-SAFE BROWSER IS BEST?
To be honest, I don’t know, as I have yet to review any.
From what I know so far I would predict that there won’t be a definitive answer to such a question anyway as they all operate differently and afford varying levels of control.
So, the best one for you may well depend on the age of your child more than anything else.
Here is a list of 8 child-friendly browsers that I’ve discovered so far -
(Incidentally, I’ve been speaking to Nici from Kidoz recently so expect a full review of that particular browser sometime soon…)
In the meantime, can you name me any other kiddie safe browsers that I may have overlooked?
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m interested in any reviews you can do. I know they are all free but so confused as to which would be best for my girl.
I have another one for you – http://www.glubble.com/
Kisplorer is one a friend of mine tried and liked.
Thanks Suzy, I’ve added Kidsplorer to the list.
Likewise Claire, have added Glubble to the list too. Thanks.
Expect to see something on Kidoz in the next 2-3 days. If thats well received I’ll see what I can do with some or all of the others.