Kids and itunes - advice please?

[Tuckervill]

My 14 yo is so afraid of seeing explicit pictures accidentally that he doesn't go anywhere online without me knowing about it. He is SO modest about that kind of stuff. I figure that will change eventually, but he has a history of only doing what he's ready for so I'm not too worried about it.

I did use parental controls when he was younger, but mostly because of predators, not because I didn't trust him. I worry about some of his friends (girls AND boys) who post pictures of themselves in "attractive" poses. He's not allowed to show his face in pictures on myspace. The thought of some perv using his picture to get off just churns my stomach.

One time when my middle son (then 15) was at work at Wendy's, a guy handed him a business card. On the back of it was a picture of himself doing something bondage-related with a young looking person. It was an OFFER to my son. I turned it over to the police (it only had an email address on it). How sickening is that???

Karen

[Trek420]

My 14 yo is so afraid of seeing explicit pictures accidentally that he doesn't go anywhere online without me knowing about it. He is SO modest about that kind of stuff. I figure that will change eventually, but he has a history of only doing what he's ready for so I'm not too worried about it.

I work for da'phone company and that's the best thing I've heard.

The best parental controls are a set of parental eyes

I have had it up to here with folks calling in "my son/daughter/grandson/etc wants wireless web so s/he can have internet in his/her room". As an employee I can't say "Nooooo, don't do it".

But the computer should be where you can see it.

If the kid's using it for homework, where's the homework?

If they are surfing and saying "Mom, Dad check this out" that's cool. As a conversation piece, talking about music and art they see but know where they are surfing.