Safety first, even online. Especially online.

Do you remember the televised PSA "Do you know where your children are?" that ran 25-30 years ago?   I'm not sure it served real purpose (did parents really NOT know where their children were?!) but testimony to the campaign's effectiveness is that I still remember it decades later. 

If I were running that ad campaign today, I'd have to tack a word onto the end of that question:  online. 

Do you know where your children are online?

Over the past few years I've had friends--other mothers--come to me with broken hearts because their young tween and teen sons accessed porn sites from home computers.  In some cases they boys were caught early on; in others, the parents were unsure how long it had been going on. 

If I remember correctly, in every instance my friends discovered this activity by accident--not because they had reason to suspect it was going on.

Our day is marked by easy accessibility to adult sites; everyone who's reading this knows you don't even have to look for it--pop-ups and sidebar ads on legitimate sites act as a wicked siren's call with no regard for young and innocent eyes that might happen upon them. 

We need all the help we can get.

Norton has stepped in with a product that does a great job of monitoring everyone in your family's online activity...in real time.  You, as its administrator, determine what settings and parameters you want to place on each person who uses the computer.  With Norton Online Family, you can:

• View the Web sites that each child has visited.
• Block a Web site that you think is inappropriate for your child.
• Monitor all the Internet searches that your child performs with most search engines.
• Monitor the time that each child spends on the Internet.
• View all the social networking sites that the child has visited.
• View all the instant messages that your child sends and receives.
• Block the personal information that the child attempts to send.

It's "Big Brother" in the most helpful of senses for a parent.  You can never be too careful when it comes to this. 

If you read my last post, you know I've been out of town for the weekend; obviously, I'm not at home and can't check our PC's history.  How wild was it for me to log into my Norton account and see every site my family visited?  The best part for the mama in me was I received no emails that indicated questionable activity--no one could have accessed the sites I blocked because of the settings I installed, but had they tried?  I would have received an email notification immediately informing me, allowing me to deal with it even though I wasn't at home! 

Because it's been a crazy-busy week, I haven't explored everything Norton Online Family has to offer; I can tell already, it covers most everything I could anticipate. 

I'm writing to mothers and wives when I say with every ounce of conviction I can muster:  if you have children in your house, you need this product; and honestly, it's a safeguard for your husband as well.  Even men who want to avoid the temptations of online impropriety, may sometimes slip; if they know you're aware of what sites they're visiting, it will most likely keep them from trying. 

Please...don't just take my word for it; starting Monday you'll have opportunity to visit others who've had a chance to preview the software as well.  See what they have to say. 

To help get the word out about this wonderful help for families and protection for children, you'll have opportunity to win an iPod Touch!  I'm thrilled to offer one in conjunction with this review, but there will be nine additional chances to win from other bloggers.  Check back this afternoon when I'll have giveaway details posted!