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  • #1

    How do you handle computer usage

    with your kids?

    Our desktop crashed and burned the other day (not surprising, given that it was 8 years old - a Pentium Freakin' 4!) and we have just ordered a new computer. It arrives Monday. I have to say that this one is quite nice.

    Our 8 year old and our 4 year old have started using the computer with more frequency. To nobody's surprise, the 4 year old boy is pretty adept, especially when it comes to things like playing DVDs and starting up Pandora.

    I know Windows 7 has a nifty bit where you can set the computer to only let certain accounts access things at certain times. Is there anything else that you parents do with your kids on computers? Any web filters that actually work and that I can easily get around when the mood strikes?

    (Yes, the desktop will be in a very public place. But the one mostly likely to be involved in hard-core stuff is me, at least if you believe church statistics).
    Awesomeness now has a name. Let me introduce myself.
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  • #2
    We let Little Robin surf wherever he likes. We figure this will save us the difficulty of having the Birds and the Bees conversation.

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    • #3
      Originally posted by RobinFinderson View Post
      We let Little Robin surf wherever he likes. We figure this will save us the difficulty of having the Birds and the Bees conversation.
      hahahaha nice.

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      • #4
        We have two desktops and a laptop (and another laptop now that our BYU Coed is back). The desktops are in very a public place.

        I don't think we have ever limited the amount of time the kids spend on the computers. It's mostly about homework now. We have at times limited what they do there, especially our 14-year-old who will play games all day if we let him. He had a WoW account which I despised, and that is gone now.

        The laptop stays in a public place as well, unless they have a good reason to take it upstairs (my 17-year-old likes to skype her sister and other friends).

        I don't bother the BYU Coed. She's an adult now.
        Give 'em Hell, Cougars!!!

        For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.

        Not long ago an obituary appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune that said the recently departed had "died doing what he enjoyed most—watching BYU lose."

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        • #5
          Lebowski was telling me about the software he owns for safe searching the internet. He seemed to be pretty happy with it. Maybe he will chime in here.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by myboynoah View Post
            We have two desktops and a laptop (and another laptop now that our BYU Coed is back). The desktops are in very a public place.

            I don't think we have ever limited the amount of time the kids spend on the computers. It's mostly about homework now. We have at times limited what they do there, especially our 14-year-old who will play games all day if we let him. He had a WoW account which I despised, and that is gone now.

            The laptop stays in a public place as well, unless they have a good reason to take it upstairs (my 17-year-old likes to skype her sister and other friends).

            I don't bother the BYU Coed. She's an adult now.
            Yeah, I am as much of a gamer as the next guy, but WoW is out. That think is a time sucker like no other.
            Awesomeness now has a name. Let me introduce myself.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by nikuman View Post
              Yeah, I am as much of a gamer as the next guy, but WoW is out. That think is a time sucker like no other.
              Very much so. Like most people, I suppose, we learn as we go along. His friends had it so we allowed him to have it. He would spend hours on it. I remember him spending practically all day on it one Saturday and being in a daze after finishing. We started putting limits on it then. Thankfully the computer with it uploaded crashed after a MS update and we never went back.

              We now limit all gaming to weekends, and then to a certain amount of time (I think three hours on Saturday, which is generous when you think about it). If we didn't, the boys would be on xBox all day long. What is it with boys?
              Give 'em Hell, Cougars!!!

              For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.

              Not long ago an obituary appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune that said the recently departed had "died doing what he enjoyed most—watching BYU lose."

              Comment

              • #8
                Originally posted by myboynoah View Post
                Very much so. Like most people, I suppose, we learn as we go along. His friends had it so we allowed him to have it. He would spend hours on it. I remember him spending practically all day on it one Saturday and being in a daze after finishing. We started putting limits on it then. Thankfully the computer with it uploaded crashed after a MS update and we never went back.

                We now limit all gaming to weekends, and then to a certain amount of time (I think three hours on Saturday, which is generous when you think about it). If we didn't, the boys would be on xBox all day long. What is it with boys?
                Even now I have to make sure to limit my xBox time so I don't stay up too late or waste a day on it - and I'm 32 with real-world responsibilities. I don't know what it is with boys but they love their games, that is for sure.
                Awesomeness now has a name. Let me introduce myself.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by myboynoah View Post
                  We now limit all gaming to weekends, and then to a certain amount of time (I think three hours on Saturday, which is generous when you think about it). If we didn't, the boys would be on xBox all day long. What is it with boys?
                  My 6 year old would do this. But I just say get outside, and then he goes and gets wrapped up in playing outside. Same thing with outside as well. He would be out until I called him in at dark. Maybe a deep focus thing.

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                  • #10
                    We have vista. We set up accounts for our kids that are not administrators.

                    We have the computer out it the open and we take a keen interest in what they are looking at or playing.

                    Nothing special.

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                    • #11
                      We have two home computers. When we buy a new one, we throw away the really old one and move the not so old one into our computer nook. The kids are allowed to use the older computer and only mom and dad are allowed on the new computer. The older computer is out in the open, which can be difficult because you can hear it anywhere in the home.

                      We have accounts for each kid and have set up favorites for the internet addresses they like to visit. They don't have the ability under their accounts to download or install anything onto the computer. Only me and Mrs. Jones can do that under our accounts, which are password protected. No special software, just Windows XP.

                      We limit their use to 30 minutes every couple days. They alternate between that and the wii, but relatively they spend a lot more time outside playing so it's not really an issue.

                      The nice thing about having a kid computer is when they screw it up, I can just reformat the thing to clean it up without losing any real data. They just use it for internet games and activities.
                      "Discipleship is not a spectator sport. We cannot expect to experience the blessing of faith by standing inactive on the sidelines any more than we can experience the benefits of health by sitting on a sofa watching sporting events on television and giving advice to the athletes. And yet for some, “spectator discipleship” is a preferred if not primary way of worshipping." -Pres. Uchtdorf

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                      • #12
                        This may not be useful to Windows users but for those that use Macs...

                        Mac OS X has pretty good parental controls built in to the operating system. One feature is time limits...

                        http://macs.about.com/od/switchersnewusers/ss/parentalcontrol_5.htm

                        You can also manage the limits remotely from another Mac on the same net. For example, this is nice if you know that your teenager is working on a paper or something you can bump up their time on the family computer from your laptop. Also, there are features to limit which apps they can use, etc. I don't know if Windows Vista has a similar feature. I don't do windows.

                        You may also what to take at look at the Parental Controls & Online Child Protection guide published by the Progress and Freedom Foundation for some more ideas.
                        "If there is one thing I am, it's always right." -Ted Nugent.
                        "I honestly believe saying someone is a smart lawyer is damning with faint praise. The smartest people become engineers and scientists." -SU.
                        "Yet I still see wisdom in that which Uncle Ted posts." -creek.
                        GIVE 'EM HELL, BRIGHAM!

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