If your family is like mine, you explore far off people, places, and time periods with relative ease through the magic of the Internet. Your home computer brings a wealth of educational resources into your homeschool on a daily basis that would be too expensive or too hard to find any other way. We take for granted that we can explore the microscopic view of a human hair or hear Neil Armstrong's voice from the surface of the moon decades after the event happened.

The Internet is a powerful tool for good, and we celebrate the good things we discover. We also know that there is a lot of filth in the online world. How can a family safely use the Internet without bringing unwanted content into their home and into the minds of their children?

Surf With a Purpose

When a person surfs at the beach, he first wades out into the ocean. He knows that the tides can be unpredictable, and the waves they bring can be enormous or tiny depending on several factors. Attempting to ride every wave that comes along isn't very practical, so he waits for one that looks perfect for his purpose. Hopefully he chooses correctly and has a great experience. If not, he may be injured by a wave that is more forceful than expected, and that may have long-term negative effects on him.

Surfing the Internet can be a similar experience. Many times the trouble starts when using the web for a specific purpose turns into mindless browsing. If someone begins clicking on any random page or ad that looks appealing, he is like the surfer who doesn't care where the wave takes him. He may see text or images that are morally offensive or are inappropriate for his age. When a family sets rules and guidelines everyone enjoys the protection of knowing what's expected of them and understands that there is accountability for their actions. When family members stay on task with their computer use, many potentially unsafe activities can be avoided altogether.

Keep the Sharks Away

Just beyond the waves that provide hours of fun, there are unseen sharks waiting to take a bite out of anyone who comes near. They aren't picky; young and old alike would satisfy their hunger. Wouldn't it be great if a surfer could take a small, inexpensive device out to the beach with him that would keep the sharks away? A surfer doesn't have that luxury, but for an online family an effective Internet content filter can be that device. Predators are waiting just beyond the safe pages of the Internet, willing to take a bite out of each member of your family. With a little effort, you can increase your odds of winning the fight they wage.

There are many good filters to choose from, including ones that are free. An effective filter allows complete customization of its features including prohibiting obscene and criminal themes, letting parents allow or disallow specific sites regardless of the content, blocking chat, setting time limits and time of day restrictions, and keeping a history of both allowed sites visited and blocked sites attempted. My favorite filter even blocks "non-productive" activities like gaming.