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Web Safety

Guarding against pollution:
Resources to protect your family in the digital age

Modern technology has changed the way we do business, the way we gather information, the way we communicate, and to some extent, the way we entertain ourselves. It also now poses a significant challenge to parents’ efforts to safeguard their kids and teens from harmful influences.

As we seek to raise up kids to know, love and serve Jesus, the issue of misuse of technology is huge. To help ensure that you and your family are guarded against inappropriate material or contact, consider taking the following steps: establish family guidelines for internet and cell phone use; purchase reliable internet filtering software; periodically review what sites have been accessed and with whom your child is in contact, both online and via cell phone; and consult media assessment tools.

The Breadth of the Problem: Strategies for Parents
The following article by Mark Gregston from Hearthlight Ministries and Parenting Today's Teens provides a realistic perspective and helpful recommendations. Read it here.

SETTING GUIDELINES
You and your family can develop a plan to keep your communications safe and honoring to God. The following resources provide some guidelines:

INTERNET
Enough Is Enough
www.enough.org

Safe Eyes
www.internetsafety.com
Go to “Resources” and select “Internet Safety Resources”

Net Nanny
www.netnanny.com
Go to “Learning Center” and select “online safety tips”

All Pro Dad Facebook Safety Guidelines
www.allprodad.com
Go to “Free Resources” and select “Dads and Teenagers”

Focus on the Family
www.focusonthefamily.com
Go to “Parenting” tab and select “Protecting Your Family”

CELL PHONES
The recent teen phenomenon of “sexting” has enormous implications – social, spiritual, personal, and legal – for our children. Simply, sexting is sending an sexually inappropriate message, and often times a sexually suggestive picture, via text message on a cell phone. In other words, just watching what your children do online isn’t enough. Research shows that over 33% of kids have received a sext message, 11% have taken a naked picture of themselves with a cell phone, and 20% of teens have been pressured by their boyfriend/girlfriend to take a naked photo.

Find a Christian perspective on sexting here. This article is from 2008, so while it may state some grim statistics, the current statistics are even worse. Near the end of the article is good advice for parents on how to handle this issue.

LG Mobile has created a website to help parents better understand texting and how it relates to their kids. Go to www.lge.com, select “Mobile Phones,” “Text Messaging,” then “Text Education.”

INTERNET FILTERS
Parents, do you know how to track what internet sites have been visited on your home computer? It’s important to know what your children are seeing and interacting with on the internet. For a good explanation of filters, go to www.commonsensemedia.org/internet-filters-tips.

The ISP and filters listed below have been recommended to us over time. We recommend that you look carefully at each to find the product that best suits your needs.

Net Nanny
www.netnanny.com

Cybersitter
www.cybersitter.com

CyberPatrol
www.cyberpatrol.com

Safe Eyes
www.internetsafety.com

Besecure
www.Bsecure.com

CyberSentinel
www.cybersentinel.com

K9 Web Protection
www1.k9webprotection.com

pkFamily
www.pkfamily.com

X3 Watch
www.x3watch.com

WEB MONITORING SERVICES
For a service fee, several companies will search the web on a regular basis to create reports for parents on everything your child is accessing. For a good New York Times article on the pros, cons and costs of such services, click here.

MEDIA ASSESSMENT TOOLS
There are many resources to help you monitor and evaluate the movies, music, DVDs and video games that affect your kids and their friends, including:

Focus on The Family
www.pluggedinonline.com
Focus on the Family website which reviews movies, TV, radio and video games

Youth Ministries
www.thesource4ym.com

You can keep track of trends in social networking, media and music and youth culture through these internet services:

Center for Parent/Youth Understanding (CPYU)
www.cpyu.org

The Source for Youth Ministry
www.thesource4ym.com/YouthCultureWindow

The Fuller Youth Institute
www.fulleryouthministries.org

And don’t overlook books which can help you understand these challenges.

ReCreate: Building A Culture In Your Home Stronger Than the Culture Destroying Your Kids by Ron Luce, Regal Books, 2008.

The Other Parent: the Inside Story of the Media’s Effect on Our Children by James Stever, Fireside Books, 2003.

Winning Your Kids Back from the Media by Quentin J. Schultze, InterVarsity Press, 1994.

Parenting by Remote Control: How to Make the Media Work for Rather Than Against Your Family by Christopher Lane, Vine Books, 1991.

The Moody Church encourages all parents to carefully examine each of the resources listed in this brochure to determine their suitability for use.

The resources listed here are not endorsed or sponsored by The Moody Church or its leadership; nor does The Moody Church guarantee their reliability or efficacy or provide any assistance with installation.

Any questions or concerns must be directed to the resource providers, not The Moody Church.

The Moody Church assumes no responsibility for the use of or any difficulties resulting from the installation of these resources.