User account for child

[kelfoan]

I want to set up a seperate user account on my PC for my 8 year old son. Any tips on how to make it safe and user friendly for him. eg is there a childrens version of google he could use as a search engine?Is there anyway I can restrict his access to other progrms already on the computer. Any recommended websites he could add to his 'portfolio.

Thanka in advance for any suggestions

[Buenchico]

Yahoo! is a better search engine than Google, and it's got a special junior version:
http://kids.yahoo.com/

Net Nanny is generally well-reviewed;
http://www.netnanny.com/

These might help:
http://www.kidsites.com/

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/coolch ild.html

Chris

[Lil O'lady]

Other simple child-safety tips: keep the computer in a family area. This literally keeps everything in the open. He will inevitably get told about nasty websites by his schoolfriends - you need to foster a relationship whereby he feels safe talking about this with the adults at home, who can help him understand why we don't go on these sites, why we don't make unpleasant remarks about people online etc. Having a family agreement about what to do when we see something that makes us frightened, uneasy or upset will be very helpful, as again it removes the secrecy and guilt that many online paedo's thrive on.
Some experimentation will be inevitable but the family ambience, other people being around etc helps keep him safe.
Use CEOP http://www.ceop.gov.uk/ as a source of information and support.
Kids very quickly pick up on the idea that they know all there is to know about computers and the internet and he may have peers whose parents don't lnow / care what their kids do online. Having a parent who is both interested, perhaps knowledgeable but also willing to learn new skills is a very positive learning message for the child.
You could check with your child's school to see if there are any family learning after-school clubs where kids and adults can sit together and work at computers.

[Lil O'lady]

This is a really good fun learning site: http://www.mathletics.co.uk/
but there are quite literally thousands.
The BBC website alone has a vast amount of excellent child-centred resources.