Safe internet sites for a fee

I found this article in the online San Fransico Chronicle. "Safe spot for kids to surf the web child-friendly sites wipe out porn predators" by Benjamin Pimentel. I was interested because it stated two moms were coming up with ideas to keep kids safe on the web. Strange but they both cost money. $9.95 a month for safe searching with nettrekker and $5 a month for Imbee.com which is the equivalent of Myspace for the 8 to 14 year olds. Does paying money make parents feel safer when their children are on the web? There are so many free search engines like Yahooligans and Ask.com geared for children I am not sure I understand why you would pay for the service.

Supervision is the key. As a society we need to stop throwing money at problems hoping they go away. We need to take responsiblility and time to solve these problems. Sitting with your child while they are on the internet would be the solution instead paying money for a service that probably dosen't even work. I am sure kids would find a way around it. It is like the filters at school. If the kids really want to, they find a way around the filters. Supervision, supervision, supervision (a little foot stomping was done there).

I liked the quote towards the bottom of the article that states ""With a little bit of skill, often just by having a chat with a librarian, you can find these resources for free," Price said. At least someone appreciates us. I would like your thoughts on this article.

Oh, there is also a podcast available (top of article).