http://ediblecrafts.craftgossip.com/

http://foodgawker.com/

http://familyfun.go.com/

http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow/

Finances:

http://www.daveramsey.com/home/

http://myfrugaladventures.com/

Bullying:

http://mrpullen.wordpress.com/2008/01/31/anti-bullying-video/

http://stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/kids/

Parenting:

http://www.mamapedia.com/

http://brendabird.com/

http://www.parentingalone.org/

http://www.freeprintablebehaviorcharts.com/behaviorcharts3-10.htm

http://www.loveandlogic.com/

http://www.parenting.org/

Abuse:

https://www.oag.state.tx.us/media/videos/play.php?image=childabuse&id=105

www.familyplace.org

www.txabusehotline.org call 1-800-252-5400

Gifted and Talented:

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/

http://www.txgifted.org/

http://smu.edu/education/gsi/lectures.asp

Computer/cell phone safety:

http://www.connectsafely.org

http://www.safeteens.com/

http://www.safekids.com

http://www.netsmartz.org/Parents

College Financial Aide:

http://www.iamgoingtocollege.com/iam.html

TAKS:

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index3.aspx?id=44&menu_id=793

Health

http://www.Girlshealth.gov

http://www.adcouncil.org/

http://kidshealth.org/

http://www.dove.us/#/cfrb/

• Any tool or method to restrict or tailor content
• It is not simply software or hardware to block content but includes non-technological methods (i.e., house rules)
• Tailoring content means allowing children to view content that parents consider “better” for them

Why do we need them?

• Threats
  • Viewing of inappropriate content
  • Overuse of technology
  • Sharing of private information
  • Online predators
  • Cyber bullying
  • Malware: computer virus, spyware, trojan
  • Downloading/sharing of copyrighted materials

Education is key

• Technology in the form of barriers and filters is important but not enough
• Any technological barrier can by defeated given enough effort
• Teaching children to think critically about the content they are consuming or the information is equally important
• Education helps kids make better choices

Layered approach

• Protecting our children involved a layered approach
  • Rules: Where, When, What, How much, Under what conditions
  • Education:  What to look for, beware of, what to share and not share
  • Tools:  Software and/or hardware to filter content

Rules

• Where:
  • Placing the computer/television in an open area of the home
  • Allowing a child to lock themselves in their room with it removes the first layer of defense
• When and How much:
  • Restrict the times a child can be on the computer to allow for adult supervision
  • Restrict the amount of time a child spends on the computer/device
• Under what conditions:
  • Can be used to incentivize your children (i.e., homework must be done prior to use of the computer)
  • An allowance system could be devised to reward children
• What:
  • Limit to age appropriate content
  • Restrict certain types of video games based on ratings or type of game (i.e., shooter games)

Education

• Digital etiquette
  • Shouldn’t be any different than etiquette in normal face to face communications
  • However, appearing anonymous online has lead to behaviors that otherwise would not take place
  • Children need to understand that everything they do online is kept forever and could be available to any future employers, romantic interests, spouses, children, grandchildren, etc.
  • Kids also need to understand that people online aren’t always what they represent themselves to be.
• General etiquette rules:
  • Treat people online the same way you would treat them in person
  • Do not bully or harass anyone
  • Don’t post negative comments about teachers, school officials, parents, friends
  • Do not post inappropriate pictures of yourself or friends (or anyone, for that matter)
  • Do not use lewd or obscene language
  • Be extremely careful communicating with strangers online
  • Do not share any personal information about yourself with unknown parties (this includes such information as what school you go to, sports team you play on, etc.)
  • If you feel you are being bullied or harassed or being asked inappropriate questions, discuss with your parents and teachers immediately

Simple rules

• Keep computer or television used for gaming in an open space
• Setup a separate limited user account for each child
• Restrict the times of day that the computer/gaming system can be used
• Know your child’s usernames and passwords
• Enable/install parental controls software to restrict the type of content and communications that can occur
• Monitor the child’s activity regularly

Tools

• Built-in parental controls on Mac OS X:
  • Done through System Preferences
  • Create a separate user account for child of type “Managed by parental controls”
  • Password must be entered to make changes to Parental Controls even when logged in as the administrator of the computer
  • Allows web filtering
    • Automatically block adult sites
    • Restrict to a limited set of approved sites
  • Mail and Chat can be restricted to a whitelist of approved contacts
  • Time limits:  Limit to x hours per day; restrict access after bedtime
  • Logging:  Websites visited, Websites blocked, applications used and Chat
  • See http://www.apple.com/findouthow/mac/#parentalcontrols

• Parental controls provided by Microsoft for Windows:
  • Windows Live Essentials includes a Family Safety feature
  • Create separate limited user accounts for each child
  • Parent uses a Windows Live ID to store settings in the cloud
  • Settings are maintained across computers
  • Allows for a sliding scale of web filtering
  • Allows limits on applications that can be run
  • Allows setting blocks of hours during which the child can use the computer
  • Allows restricting games based on rating
  • Maintains activity logging that is stored in the cloud so parent can view from a different computer
  • Allows parent to restrict contacts for email and instant messaging when using Hotmail and Messenger
  • Download at http://download.live.com
  • More information at http://explore.live.com/windows-live-family-safety
• Third party tools
  • NetNanny 6.5 (Windows) or NetNanny 2.0 (Mac OS X)
    • Logs IM conversations
    • Tracks social networking profiles
    • Real time content analysis (can block profanity that appears on a site – Windows version only)
  • OnlineFamily.Norton (Windows and Mac)
    • Free
    • Settings stored in cloud so works across multiple computers
    • Protects personal information
    • Tracks when a child creates a social networking accounts; alerts if child lies about age
  • Safe Eyes 6.0 (Windows and Mac)
    • Can block web email and allows for creating whitelist for standard POP3/SMTP email
    • Sends alert if child posts personal information
    • Blocks inappropriate YouTube videos
    • For comprehensive reviews of these and other parental control software/hardware see http://www.pcmag.com/category2/0,2806,1639158,00.asp

Technologies

• Email
  • Used by younger children; not as popular among older teens/tweens that have cell phones
  • Software that allows whitelisting is best for younger children
    • Safe Eyes and Windows Live Family Safety (with Hotmail) provide this
    • Consider that a child may try and create an account with a web mail provider (Gmail, Yahoo!, etc.)
• Search Engines
  • Google, Bing and Yahoo! all provide a Safe Search option
  • Generally, the options for Safe Search are Strict, Moderate and None
  • Windows Live Family Safety, Safe Eyes, NetNanny and OnlineFamily.Norton all can set Safe Search to Strict when monitoring a child’s account
• Instant Messaging
  • Parental controls can be used to either monitor or create a whitelist for IM clients.
• YouTube
  • YouTube provides a Safety Mode setting.  Found at the bottom of any YouTube page.
  • To lock the setting to a browser, create an account, turn Safety Mode on and lock it to that browser.  Must be done per browser (once for IE, once for Firefox, etc.).
  • Recommend that parents still monitor YouTube because Safety Mode doesn’t catch all.
  • Safety Mode removes comments from videos
• Social Networking (Facebook, MySpace)
  • Includes online gaming sites: Runescape, Webkinz, etc.
  • Consider using an avatar instead of a real picture.  If they want to use a real picture, consider a group picture with their friends.
  • Don’t let child create user names that reveal personal information.
  • Teach children to not reveal any personal information about themselves that could reveal location.
  • Remind children that anything they post will exist in perpetuity and could affect them later in life.
  • Use privacy settings (if available) so that profile details/photos are only shared with friends.
  • Only accepts requests from known friends.
• Video Games
  • All video games have an ESRB rating attached to them (M for Mature, T for Teen).
  • Xbox 360 and Wii have parental controls to prevent playing of games over a specified rating.
  • PS3 has a similar method of controlling which games are played.
  • Xbox 360 also has a time limit feature.
  • Online chat in multiplayer games can be restricted to friends only or completely blocked.
• iPod/iPhone
  • Parental controls can be enabled on all these devices
  • Can disable Safari, iTunes, YouTube, application installation, in-app purchases, location.  Set limits based on ratings for music and podcasts, movies, TV shows, etc. on iPod/iPhone.

Links

• Parent Control and Online Child Safety:  A Survey of Tools and Methods (http://www.pff.org/parentalcontrols/)
• Parental Control:  How Much is Enough? (http://news.yahoo.com/s/zd/20101007/tc_zd/255392)
• Too Much Screen Time Can Psychologically Harm Kids (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39612834/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/)
• Microsoft’s Online Safety site (http://www.microsoft.com/protect/default.aspx)
• Apple Mac OS X built-in parental controls (http://www.apple.com/findouthow/mac/#parentalcontrols)
• Windows Live Essentials Family Safety (http://explore.live.com/windows-live-family-safety)
• NetNanny (http://www.netnanny.com/)
• OnlineFamily.Norton (http://onlinefamilyinfo.norton.com/)
• Safe Eyes (http://www.internetsafety.com/safe-eyes-parental-control-software.php)
• PC Magazine’s Parental Control and Monitoring Product Finder (http://www.pcmag.com/category2/0,2806,1639158,00.asp)
• Google Safe Search (http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?answer=510)
• Bing Safe Search (http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/bing/ff808441.aspx)
• Yahoo! Safe Search (http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/search/basics/indexing-07.html)
• YouTube Safety Mode (http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2010/02/safety-mode-giving-you-more-control-on.html)
• Social Networking Sites:  A Parent’s Guide (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/tech/tec13.shtm)
• Social Networking Sites:  Safety Tips for Tweens and Teens (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/tech/tec14.shtm)
• Xbox 360 Family Settings (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/familysettings/console/xbox360/consolefamilysettings.htm)
• Wii parental controls (http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/wii/en_na/settingsParentalControls.jsp)
• Sony PlayStation 3 parental controls (http://manuals.playstation.net/document/en/ps3/current/basicoperations/parentallock.html)
• Nintendo DS parental controls (http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/dsi/en_na/settingsParentalControls.jsp)
• Sony PlayStation Portable parental controls (http://manuals.playstation.net/document/en/psp/current/settings/parental.html)
• iPod/iPhone Restrictions (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4213)
• iTunes parental controls (http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1904)

In Velvet Elvis, Rob Bell frees us to consider God beyond the picture someone else painted for us in order to find an authentic understanding of the Christian faith. God doesn’t have boundaries, and faith doesn’t have to be limited to what someone else has told us. God is alive. Faith is alive. Velvet Elvis helps us find our faith. And even if it doesn’t, it encourages us to keep looking. Faith doesn’t end with this book. But it just might begin…

Rob Bell is the founding pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan. He is a breakthrough communicator in the Christian community and is featured in the first series of NOOMA, which are spiritually-based short films.