In its May issue, Consumer Reports magazine tells parents how to shield kids from these often-camouflaged entanglements, and how they can find the many cultural, social and educational resources available in cyberspace. Consumer Reports notes that an estimated 2.6 million youngsters currently go online via the family computer, and that that number is expected to swell to 10 million in the next five years. Yet the Internet poses special challenges for parents and teachers alike, because its content is more varied and far less regulated than either television or the public library. The magazine also looked at the efforts of the four major online services to shield their members from potentially offensive material. Users can select 12 categories of adult material to control Web access and block the use of certain words and phrases.
Parents can enforce online time limits.
Free to subscribers of AOL, CompuServe and Prodigy. It blocked 14 of the 22 sites. Parents can view a list of their child's activities, restrict what phrases are sent or received, and block sites containing foul language. The software came with a list of only a few hundred blocked sites, and you're supposed to wait for free monthly updates or add to the list yourself. It left 19 of the 22 sites unblocked, mainly because it relies on voluntary ratings systems that are little used on the Web.