Fact: The Internet is home to all types of Web sites. While surfing the Internet, kids are only a click away from being exposed to either the most helpful or harmful images. In the same vein, there are many safety concerns when off the Internet, let alone on it. But, at least by keeping these sites handy, you won’t have to worry about your kid’s viewing habits as much, as they peruse cyberspace.
Give Me Five
We want our children to leave their mark on the world, in the best way possible. In order for this to be attained, we must closely monitor them, as well as teach them the fundamentals of life. And, while some parents rely heavily on the Internet to help guide their children through certain aspects, it could only be a benefit to know four kid-friendly search sites in which to do so.
1. First up is KidRex. What’s KidRex? KidRex offers according to the company, a fun and safe search for kids, by kids. And, KidRex searches strive to bring kid-related webpages from the whole entire Web. Searches also are powered by Google Custom Search, along with using Google SafeSearch technology.
In addition to the former, there are many other facets to using Google’s SafeSearch; it screens for sites that contain explicit sexual content and erases them from your child’s search results.
How does this happen? Google’s filter checks keywords, phrases and URLs to eradicate most material parents would deem inappropriate.
While KidRex is not a 100 percent foolproof way to keep kids from “bad” or malicious sites, it prides itself as being a great starting point. KidRex also is advanced in the sense that it maintains its own database of inappropriate Web sites and keywords, too.
2. KidsClick! is number two on the list. The site is owned and operated by the School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) at Kent State University. KidsClick! first came into fruition because a group of librarians at the Ramapo Catskill Library System sought to address the growing number of concerns about the role public libraries play, in guiding their young users to valuable and age appropriate Web sites.
Note, that the site is not an Internet filter. It also does not prevent client web browsers from being used to surf any URL address that the user inputs. What is the intended use of KidsClick!? It is intended to guide users to good sites; not block them from “bad” sites. Nonetheless, it could be used in conjunction with a filter product.
3. Fact Monster is not creepy, but it is a part of publishing giant, Pearson Education. Moreover, it is a reference site for kids ages 8-14 that provides both educational resources and entertainment. It combines the contents of an atlas, an encyclopedia, a dictionary and several almanacs. Another feature, is the fact that it’s chock full of historical records, statistics and facts. There also are daily features from the site’s home page that include today’s birthdays, this day in history, in the news, spelling bee and monster’s poll, to briefly name a few.
4. Rounding out the list is Quintura Kids. How does this site work? You can find all the information you need by simply clicking the words in the category cloud on the home page. As you point to a word, new words will show-up to make your query more specific and help you retrieve results that are even more pertinent to your search. Quintura Kids also is available for iPhone, iPad and is accessible on the App Store for Apple.
Few and Far Between
Huge responsibilities come along with being a parent, taking precautionary measures to protect your children being one of them. But, just because children are not of the legal age to view certain subject matter and Web sites, they still can have a great time on the Internet by visiting kid-friendly options, giving you peace of mind.
Web Links:
http://www.kidrex.org/parents/about.html;
http://www.kidsclick.org/clickback.php;
-Kimberly Williams
[KWLMS] 