Well I am still here. I apologize for my lack of blogging recently but things have just been really busy. I hope that everyone reading this had a great weekend and is making the most of the week so far.
We had a great day of worship here at Woodward Park yesterday where we witnessed the birth of David Molina into our family. Arnold Centeno baptized David following the message yesterday. I don't know about you but witnessing someone committing themself to Christ is a great way to start your week.
From time to time I would like to use this forum to share resources that can help you have a better walk with Jesus Christ. Today I want to introduce you to The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding. CPYU is a website that parents and teens alike can use to find better ways to understand one another. This is a great resource for parents feeling out of touch with their teenager.
One of the featured articles on this website deals with pornography and the effects it has on our teenagers today. Included in this article are several ways to make sure that the Internet usage in your home is used for only wholesome things. These are all easy to follow guidelines that will make your teen's Internet usage safe and they include...
- Place home computers in a central area of the house, not a child’s bedroom or secluded area. Make surfing the Internet a family experience.
Talk with your children about what they can and cannot do online, while trying to understand their needs, interests and curiosity.
Know your child's password and screen names; they may have more than one.
Set reasonable time limits on computer use, and ensure that your children adhere to the limitations.
Parents (not children) should always establish and maintain an Internet service provider account (AOL, Earthlink, MSN), and the account should always be in a parent’s name (not a child’s). This ensures that a parent can legally maintain control of the account’s use and can access records if necessary. If an account is set up in a child's name, it may be difficult, if not impossible, to obtain account information without the child's permission.
You should also realize that children might be accessing the Internet from outside the home, such as friends’ homes, work, libraries and school.
Be open with your children and encourage them to come to you if they encounter a problem online.
Explore filtering and blocking software, which is used to sort information on the Internet and classify it according to content. A major drawback is that some filtering may block innocent sites, while many "negative" sites still get past the filters. Though these programs can be great assets, parents still need to maintain open communication with their children to inform and protect them.
These are just a few ways that you can make sure you and your teenager are safe when surfing the Internet. I believe children to be our most precious gift and I take protecting them very seriously. If you would like to read this article in its entirety you can click here and learn more about protecting your children. The Internet can be a great thing but it is up to us to make sure things are safe for our children. I hope you are blessed today.
Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul
