How to Stop Kids From Going Around Parental Controls
Your sneaky little parental control changer may think he has outsmarted you, but you̵7;re on to him. It may seem quite sophisticated to hack your password and change your parental controls; however, you can get one step ahead of him with a few account changes. Cracking your child̵7;s control-changing system can help prevent him from viewing inappropriate websites or television shows.
Things You'll Need
- Parental control or blocking and filtering software
- Television manual
Instructions
Internet Controls
Log out of your account when you̵7;re done using it -- every time. If you leave your administrator account open, your child will have unlimited access. This is the easiest way for your teen to get around the parental controls or even reset them. Change your password for the computer administrator login and your email account. Get creative with the password, but don̵7;t forget it. Your sneaky kid may have found out your password and is logging in with it. He could have done this by clicking the ̶0;Forgot your password?̶1; link and having the password sent to your email account. From there, he could access the password, log in to the computer administrator, and change the computer settings and parental controls. Update your parental control software. You can find ̶0;Blocking and Filtering̶1; software at a computer or retail store. This can give the extra protection you need to keep your kiddo from going around the parental controls. Create an account for each member of the family. Set different levels of access for each family member. Norton suggests setting the parental controls so the parents can download software, but the kids can̵7;t. If the kids want to download or upgrade under their login, they have to ask for your permission to do so. Place the computer in a general family area of the house, such as the living room or den, so you can keep an eye on what he̵7;s doing on the computer. He̵7;s less likely to mess with the parental controls when you̵7;re in the room. Set a time limit for computer use and enforce it. If you give your child 15 to 30 minutes of computer use at a time, he̵7;ll have less time to get into trouble, although this may not deter him completely. Enforce consequences for changing or going around the parental controls. Ground him, reduce or revoke his computer privileges, or any other consequence that you see fit. Television Controls
Set the parental control settings on your television to the level you desire. If you don̵7;t know how to set them, consult your TV̵7;s manual. This will set program filters so your child cannot watch programs that have a rating higher than you set on the parental control. Change your current password. If you suspect that your child has figured out the new password, change it again. Have him step out of the room when you̵7;re setting it, just in case. Supervise what your child is watching. If you catch him resetting the parental controls or watching shows that you know are not within the settings you chose, you know something is up. Enforce consequences, such as loss of television time or other privileges.
