Finding safe sites for children is one of the more difficult tasks you will have as a parent on the Internet. Unfortunately, very few sites are full proof, but there are steps you can take to review the sites your children want to visit prior to turning over the mouse.

Obviously you want to check for any adult material that may be contained on the page. This includes text, pictures, and banners for additional sites or links. When I was a Community Leader for Geocities, we were taught to review sites to 2 "clicks" outside of Geocities. This means that you follow a link on the original page, check that link, then follow all links off of the second page to review those links. This gives you an idea of what your children may come in contact with if they should leave the original site through one of their links. It also gives you an inside into the mind of the creator of the pages. If I set up a page for children and include a link to page that contains harmful material or links to adult sites or information, then I have either not been very cautious in my choice of links, or perhaps I have an alterior motive and you may want to check my page more carefully.

Be careful when checking chat sites. Actually enter the chats and observe the conversation and whether there is a monitor for the chat room. I am convinced that chatting is not a good idea for children of any age. Teenagers are especially fascinated with chatting. An alternative may be message boards. This gives teenagers a chance to communicate without actually having "real time" conversations. It also gives you an opportunity to monitor what is being said by being able to view the message board.

Webrings have become popular on the Internet. Although fun and linking similar pages, use caution when surfing rings. There should be a way to index all the sites on the ring. Webrings may include from two to thousands of sites. If you are unable to check each site, then you should surf the ring with your child. When joining a webring, I suggest using your best judgement. Consider that all sites may not have been preselected or scrutinized prior to being allowed to join, and may contain material not appropriate for some viewers.