There are many PC Tools available for parents to use in order to monitor their child’s activity. These are important tools in helping families maintain a healthy online experience while being at home. This purpose of these types of software are intended to help parents see what their child is doing online so that they can help protect their children. Many find this to be no more than spying, an invasion of privacy for the child. This could not be further from the truth. There are things that are in the world that children just simply cannot be exposed to, and they do not understand the harm that can come from predatory people.

If a child is being sent mean messages online, things that hurt their feelings or publicly embarrass them, this is considered bullying. According to federal law, this is a crime. The offending child would be punished. Now switch the roles and make it the offending child that is being monitored. If a parent sees this behavior occurring from their own child, they will have the tendency to stop it, and tell their child why the behavior is wrong. If a child is being approached by a predator online, a parent can step in and educate their child on why they should be wary of certain topics or people online. Monitoring is not a matter of morality, rather a matter of parental responsibility.

There are repercussions, however, in monitoring a child’s activity online. First, parents may be shocked or hurt by what they see their child engaging in. Two, parents may overuse the information found and embarrass the child, or overstep their bounds by making certain information public. It is best to use good judgment when information is found by parents, as this could be a matter of trust between children and parents.