Computers dominate our work and home lives both for us and for our kids. Although I've worked with computers for over 30 years when it came to teaching our kids about computers and letting them loose on the internet we found it extremely difficult to find tools to help us control their experience. We wanted them to have enough freedom to manage themselves but also to protect and supervise when appropriate.

There were many partialy implemented tools that didn't quite deliver for us. Our requirements were simple:-

• Provide a daily allowance of time on the computer i.e. 60minutes on a school day and provide a time window to use the computer i.e. not before school and not after 8:30pm.
• Log them off, and not allow them back on, when their allowance is exceeded or they attempt to use the computer outside of the time window .
• Filter the internet so that they can't access web sites that we think are inappropriate for their age.
• To set this up once and forget about it, knowing that it will continue to operate with the minimum of effort.

It took quite a while to find the right tools. We installed many programs and after testing removed them again because they just didin't work or were too dificult to live with.

Eventually we found the programs that work for us. Having setup the environment for our family and benefited from its use, our friends were equally interested to know about what we had done, how we had done it and how they can do the same. This website was setup with the intention of helping other Parents setup a more controlled environment for their kids to enjoy their computing and Internet time.

Additionally I've included other useful information for about computers and the internet like where to buy cheap software and how to check that your computers are safe from hackers. And anything else we found along the way.

Just follow the links down the left hand side to find what your after. More links will be added as we find them:-

This page was Last updated Jan 2009