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We are week 18 of CTC and dd was reading pg 13 of Ancient Greece and wondered what greaves were. It was mentioned in a list of shields, swords, helmets and spears so we decided to google it. BIG MISTAKE. We were treated to a CD cover of nudity.

Poor dd was almost in tears as she is so modest and was shocked. I rarely, as in this is probably only the 3rd or 4th time I have let her do the searching, and this is what we got. Is there something that I can use that would block something like this?

How do you let you dc using the computer....dd has currently stated she has no plans of using google again.


Thanks a bunch!

I thought I would edit this to say that greaves in and of itself was perfectly innocent, part of a soldier's armor. It was someone with the last name of Greaves that was not.

We have had a similar experience so I'm interested to hear some advice on this as well.

We did CTC last year and for this reason didn't ever research beyond the topic and "keywords" given in the guide. We found this to be a safe way to go about researching, as I know how quickly the Internet can take us and our dc places we don't want to go. Carrie tried hard to check out every keyword search she planned, so I feel safer with those, though I know it is still my responsibility to oversee it carefully. We have a few rules in place - dc may not be on the Internet when we are not right there in the room with them. Dc are only on the Internet for school-related research right now. Computers will never be allowed in their rooms, and can only be used on the main floor in open people-populated rooms, when we are right near them. We have talked about all media forms and using sound moral judgment in using them the way God would want us to use them. So, just like we have to use moral discernment when using the computer, we also need to within choosing books, magazines, music CD's, radio stations, activities, friends, etc.

We've also told our dc (especially since we have boys) that there are inappropriate pictures of women and men on the Internet, where they are unclothed, and that this is not only sinful, but it is also a temptation to us that we need to guard against. One of my oldest sister's friends has 12 dc she homeschools, and has graduated several already. She said the wisest thing she and her dh ever told their dc was that there would come a point in their lives where they would probably be strongly tempted to look at pictures of people without their clothes, and that when that happened, they wanted their dc to tell them immediately so they could talk about it and help them through it. We have told our oldest ds the same thing, and try to remind him of it once and awhile so we are there to help when that temptation arises. Accidents do happen, and though I'm sure you've already said something akin to this, she should understand that her seeing that image was not planned, and because she did not make a conscious choice to seek that out, her seeing it was not her fault, and not a choice on her part to sin. I'd just let her know you've had this happen before as well, and that it's just a reminder to be careful when using any form of media. It's not a reason to stop using all types of media, but instead a reminder to consciously choose how to go about it. So, staying just on the first search site of the keywords in CTC would minimize this happening, and if she would like to further research something on a different site, perhaps you could let her know you'd take a minute to check it out and make sure it seemed safe before she looked at it. One other way around this would be to get a children's encyclopedia to use instead or to use a set of child-friendly encyclopedia CD's. Though I'd be inclined to still do the Internet research as some point, as I feel this is an important thing to teach our dc as we are by their side.

HTH - but you are wise to guard what your dc read and see carefully! It is a difficult responsibility we all have as parents that is easy to forget sometimes. Thanks for reminding me of this all-important task again!

In Christ,
Julie

We have a filter( Netnanny) installed. It isn't 100%, but it sure helps a ton. You can set how much you want to filter out and what categories you allow, warn, or block. Both my kids like to search for things that interest them and so far it has kept them away from anything that isn't ok. It also allows you to set certain times that the computer allows internet access. Sometimes my highschool dd stays up late in the summer so I have it set where she can't get on the internet after we are in bed. It also allows me to monitor any chat on sites like facebook.

Thanks ladies. I will check out NetNanny.

Julie, thanks for sharing about your sister's friend. I think we shall have to have a conversation of the same sort with dd...unfortunately.

Off to google( I think!) NetNanny!

I don't know what to say about the internet thing, but your experience is why we hung onto a good set of Encyclopedias for independent research. Otherwise I sit there with them while we google.

My dad showed me that you can set parental controls on Internet Explorer but we quit using it because I had to keep coming and approving each page. Maybe you would be able to tweak it to work well for you though. It's free too.

We use K-9 protection, it is free and it works really well. You can customize it to always block certain things or websites. I have Youtube always blocked, but if there is a cute video on there that I want to show the kids I can enter my password and allow Youtube for 15, 30 or 60 minutes.

My husband has installed DansGuardian on our computer. I do have to say though, I think it takes a little bit of computer savvy (which my DH has more than a little) to actually use it. It has blocked me looking at things on Ebay for example, then he goes in and tells it that Ebay is an allowed site.

And I would strongly encourage you to have and use a content filter if you have Internet access at all. To avoid those kind of experiences and also of course temptation for US or our children! I have heard good things about NetNanny also but my DH liked DansGuardian the best.