What joke? Good friend of mine took that and his kids are the best behaved in the neighborhood. :P

We personally don't bother with parental controls. Initial supervision and guidance has proven perfectly adequate. Then again, if my girls want internet access for anything other than Youtube they are already limited to having to use devices that either I or my wife own.

And when it comes to Youtube, we already know what content they like to look at: Let's plays of the games they play themselves.

The best parental control is to be present when kids are on Internet and to make them aware of Internet dangers when they are older.

Don't replace yourself by a software.

I don't think you understood me. There is no software to circumvent. Our network has no technical restrictions of any kind.

As for trying to cordon off sections of the net for a 14-year-old, to me that just seems stupid and disrespectful.

We used to have all three computers (my own, my girlfriend's and my son's) in the living room. Hence, he really couldn't do anything questionable online without us immediately knowing about it. At the same time he's been brought up to think about what he does online. What not to click, what not to tell strangers, not being a dick to people for no reason. "Fortunately", he has a friend who sets a brilliant example of what not to do. That kid happily clicks anything that pops up, installs questionable software, and often acts like a douche in multiplayer. As a result, his machine is always completely fucked up, and he's not terribly popular on various servers. My son sees this and realizes that this is the wrong way to go about things.

Now that he's 13, we've moved the computer down to his own room. Why? Well, precisely to avoid any accidental parental control. In other words, we've done it to protect his privacy. He's reached an age where there are some things he definitely doesn't want to, nor should, share with his parents. We've taught him well, and trust that he can use the net responsibly.

Also, he has just as much right to watch porn in private as I do.

I can imagine some parents being horrified at some of the things I'm saying. I can only assume they've forgotten what it was like to be 13.

My eldest is about to turn 11.
I have made sure that the only net capable device in the house that he has access to is in the living room.

Makes things easy.
I don't have to look over his shoulder, just as long as he knows I CAN look over his shoulder at any time....

A cane.

Or a belt.

I spray bottle with water in it might work too...

My wife and I have told the kids many times there are no ways to unsee things that you see. My son has gotten a virus on his computer from going to fansites for Starcraft II, and has such learned a bit about malware and basement dwellers with nothing better to do than write crap code to infect people's PCs. The kids' computers (yes we have multiple PCs for multiple kids) are lined up right outside my office and I do monitor what they are doing a bit, but for the most part we extend a certain trust.

The most trouble they have gotten into over their PC usage is sneaking onto them to play. We are outside working of a woodworking project and my son goes in to get us a drink, and it takes him 20 minutes to bring out the water pitcher and cups...hmmmm the same 20 minutes for him to find me a pencil...then he went in the third time and was busted my Mom playing flash games on notdopler. So his PC became our bedroom Home Theatre for a month so my wife could watch Hulu and Amazon Prime shows and movies while she nurses our new babies.

Not really computer related, but my father "confiscated" the door to my room as i slammed one time too much..

Atleast they never took the Amiga from my room ;)

My parents gave me the socially conservative sex-positive talk, which I eventually realized was uncommon. They took the same tactic with a lot of other problem areas - drugs, cheating, etc.

Their tactics were:
Lots of education, ex. anatomy lessons
Reasonable central message, ex. 'It's great with your spouse, it's less fun and not safe when you're not married'
Start in first grade
Involve kid in adult decisions as early as possible, ex. I was included in financial and educational decisions as soon as I could read. I wasn't always listened too, but I was included and asked for my opinion.

By the time I had my own computer, I had better things to do than sneak around online. We did have PCs in a communal area too.

Power timers work for energy reduction, but they're very easy to reset. Some people suggest them as a hardstop parental control. Those people haven't realized how easily the switches are changed. If you need to go that route, just confiscate the computer.

Weeellll...it depends. Mechanically, perhaps. But my POV is that half the fun of intimacy is being intimate with another person. That doesn't happen in the same way with a bar pickup. There's also a lot to be said for a genuinely long-term, stable and committed relationship in terms of knowing what makes you tick.

And yes, I know you were being flippant. But I think the point is worth talking about seriously. :)

Came to the thread and was about to post this, but now I don't need to :p

I think that he needs to talk and educate his children the best possible way so they act properly on all kind of situations. That way he probably wouldn't need to use parenting control software. Maybe they would still look up some things on the Internet, but they would probably, for example, not imitate them.

But hey, don't listen to me, I'm not even close to being a parent!

I think it's best to combine both methods. Parents need to parent. But there's a definite role for tools that help. People post no-trespassing signs *and* use door locks.

parental control in terms of limited the online time or the websites visited?

if its about the websites try comodo and privdog, so far they even managed to shut down sites i wanted to see when i wanted to see them even tho ive made exceptional rules for them, so given how strict they are with the right setup its prolly a good choice

other than that the best parental control is birth control :P

I think that comparing door locks and parental control software is not a very good idea, but I get your point and think that part of it is very true. Some kids need it and some kids don't. I still think that if you do parenting good enough you don't really need to use it, and here's the important thing: most of the time. There are always exceptions.

I'm refering to software that limits the Internet content. Limiting the time online is really useful, even more now days. Maybe we're thinking about different things! :p

Oh and I don't know why I'm saying this if I'm not a parent but well... it's nice to debate!