Book Parenting

Monitoring Child Online Activity: A "Necessary Evil" of 21st Century Parenting

New York, NY (PRWEB) July 3, 2008 -- Online safety is a top family priority and concern today. And although parents seem to get the message that monitoring Internet activity of their children is essential, few seem to put it into physical practice. Manuel Coats, Co-Founder of Pandora Corp. says there's a bad stigma associated with parents playing big brother.

"Unfortunately, parents have a fear of invading their child's privacy," explains Coats. "I consider this to be irrational, and a poorly associated stigma. Parent job number one is to protect your child. How can you do that if you don't know what they are doing, where they are going or who they associate with?"

Many critics liken the use of monitoring software (http://www.pcpandora.com/children.php) to reading a personal diary, or listening to a phone conversation, or even reading mail.

"Checking online activity of your kids couldn't be more different than any of those," says Coats. "The diary of generations past was a secret document, kept under lock-and-key, that usually no one but the author read. There is nothing with that level of privacy on the Internet, certainly not a social networking page."

And the elongated phone calls made by teens of the 1980s and '90s?

"The idea that checking emails and chats of your kids is like eavesdropping on phone conversations or reading mail, well, my parents always knew who was on the other end of the phone and where the letters came from. So did I. Do you know for sure who is on the other end of an IM chat with your kids?"

A lot of skeptics are quick to assume that the incredible knowledge parents can obtain from monitoring software, like Pandora Corp's flagship title PC Pandora (http://www.pcpandora.com), is a power that can quickly and easily be misused by parents. Some fear that innocent checking and monitoring will quickly turn to snooping and spying. But Coats quickly points out that it's up to the parent to be able to walk that line of being a parent and being intrusive.

"Parents are supposed to be the responsible caretakers of the house," explains Manuel Coats. "They need to set and enforce rules, but also use personal rules and keep themselves in check. You don't need to know who has a crush on whom in class or other random sordid teenage details. But you do need to know if your child is being bullied or talking to someone online with a suspicious screen name."

Coats recommends that all parents use monitoring software like PC Pandora 5.0 (http://www.pcpandora.com), which works like a DVR for your computer. The program takes sequential snapshots of what is on the computer screen, providing parents with a detailed visual record of everything their children saw and did on and offline. In addition, further details of user activity, such as websites visited, emails sent and received, instant messenger chats, keystrokes logged, peer-2-peer files traded, programs accessed and more, can be seen in text-based files. It will even email a busy parent at work with updates on activity.

Though the threat of Internet predators seems to be the most publicized and talked about, chances are it's not the threat your kids will encounter first.

"Statistics show that kids are going to be involved - in some way - with cyberbullying before they are talking to strangers online. What's more, young Internet users aren't fully aware of the consequences of illegal file sharing or posting too much personal and private information online. Their own eagerness to participate and average youthful naiveté can cause them to fall easily into those traps."

So while some may feel monitoring computer activity of kids is "too much" and more like "spying", Manuel Coats asks parents to consider the idea thoroughly before dismissing it.

"We like to think of it more as 'appropriate' and 'necessary 21st century parenting.'"

A 2-hour trial of PC Pandora is available at the PC Pandora website (http://www.pcpandora.com/trial_download.php).

About PC Pandora:

Pandora Corporation was formed with one goal - to help our customers monitor, control and protect their families and themselves online. First released in mid 2005, PC Pandora has been constantly upgraded to industry-leading specifications and has received accolades from users, reviewers and even school districts and law enforcement agencies, who use the program to help in the day-to-day supervision of the children and citizens they are charged with protecting. The company website devotes space to helping parents with 18 Tips to Safe Surfing (http://www.pcpandora.com/children/18tips.php) and Pandora's Blog (http://blog.pcpandora.com/), where current news in the world of online safety is discussed regularly. PC Pandora has vaulted into a leadership position by boasting a combination of features that unparalleled in the monitoring industry. In February 2008, Version 5.0 was released, again widening the spectrum of coverage and protection offered by the program. In addition, through the company's SAFE SCHOOLS (http://www.pcpandora.com/educators.php) program, schools and school districts can receive up to $100,000 worth of software to aid in protecting their students and their PCs. PC Pandora is also now available through the Pandora Corp. store at Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/s/105-6301477-4934017?ie=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=software&field-keywords=Pandora%20Corp).

Reporters and Producers: Looking to cover this topic? We are your technology solution and experts. Software is available for review and testing. Staff members are always available for interviews. Let us help you show your audience how easy it can be to keep their kids safe online.

###

MORE ARTICLES:

Attachment Parenting the Best Parenting Practices
Attachment parenting is a style of caring for your infant that brings out the best in the baby and the best in the parents.

Parenting A Teenager - The Top 3 Mistakes A Parent Can Make
If you are currently parenting a teenager you know how frustrating and even scary it can be.

Parenting Quizzes Put Parents to Test at Chatterbean.com
Parents can finally take a break for themselves by taking some of the interactive parenting style quizzes at Chatterbean.com to learn more about their approach to the 'toughest job in the world' and how to make the most of the years they have with their kids.

Parenting 101: Get Into a Parenting Class
If it were only possible! Wouldn't it be just great if you could rewind your life tape, be a parent once again, and correct errors you now realize you made? Unfortunately, you only get to rear your kids once ? and you have to learn all you need to learn on the fly. Because when it comes to raising kids, everyone is a first-time parent.

Free Parenting Tips - What You Should Know About Effective Parenting
People are constantly looking for help and strategies for effective parenting. They always strive to be the best possible parent they can be and often feel that they come up short in terms of their own parenting skills. Regardless, the search for better ways of effective parenting is a lifelong search for many parents. The notion of living up to expectations as a parent is often very near to the heart of many parents, creating a fear over parenting that often leads to insecurity and a lack of confidence in personal parenting skills.

Easier Parenting Launches Free Online Course for Parents of Middle School Teens
Two enthusiastic parents have created a free online parenting course for parents of Junior High/Middle School teens and designed especially to make parenting easier in this hectic 21st century.

Tracing Birth Parents: Tracing Real Parents of Adopted Children
Finding biological parents the easy way using online public records Do you want to find your real parents Are you curious about where you came from, who your parents are and why they gave you up for adoption

Free Parenting Help - Why You Should Have A Parenting Plan
Parenting can be hard enough without a solid parenting plan to help guide you through some of the potential pitfalls. Without a solid plan, your parenting skills may be put to the test more than you wish they would be and you may wind up making some awkward decisions that could greatly affect your family. With a comprehensive plan for parenting and raising your family, however, you can be a little more comfortable and a lot more prepared when it comes to raising your children.

Parenting Your Adolescent: 3 Powerful Steps to Being an In-Charge Parent
Q. How do I overcome the 16-year-old who does things only on his time frame.

Parenting Your Teenager: What Teens Say About Parents
What's hard for teenagersHaving people who don't understand you trying to control you.Parents not understanding the things you have to deal with.

Your Parents' Parenting Style Affects Yours
A mom talks to her son about his dirty dishes in the sink. A dad punishes his daughter for talking back and not being respectful. A step mother bites her tongue as her stepdaughter curses at her. A step father explains to his wife how she ought to punish her son for not checking in when he was out past his curfew. Why would these parents in these various roles do what they do towards their children and step children? How do people learn how to parent their kids, let alone someone elses children? In all cases, behavior is a result of a persons beliefs.

Parenting Social Network Minti Enables Parents to Earn Cash Via PayPal
The latest release of Minti, the social network "powered by patents", provides a unique rewards system allowing active social networked parents to earn cash for participating in the community.

What Parents Need To Know - Quality Child Care For Parents
What Parents Need To Know - Quality Child Care For Parents

A Parenting Tip - The 3 Top Mistakes Parents Make
Parenting is an exhilarating roller-coaster ride at its best. At its worst, well, no one wants to even go there.