Neat tools for protective parents

I know we are all super protective of our adopted kids, but at the same time we want to make sure they get to benefit from some of the great technologies and resources we have access to in the US. I found these two resources that were a great help to us and our girls, and have turned on other parents (not just adoptive ones either) to these tools.

Glubbles by Firefox
http://www.glubble.com/glubbles
This is an internet safety program. It uses a “white list” instead of “black lists” or keyword filters. Basically kids can only access the internet through the Firefox Glubbles interface (you have to be sure they can’t get to internet explorer, or otherwise they will just use that instead), and the only websites that they can view are the ones you explicitly approve. It comes with a set of preapproved sites that you can enable or disable, things like Disney.com, Barbie.com, Discovery channel Kids, etc.

Some other websites I’ve approved include:
YouTube (I know this can be bad, but there are tons of Russian TV shows and music videos on there that the kids like to watch)
Millsberry.com - arcade games by General Mills cereals
Brainpop.com – educational videos and quizzes on every subject
Clubpenguin.com- owned by Disney now, arcade games played by your penguin avatar.
Wikipedia.com – online encyclopedia, great for school work
Rosetta Stone online through our library – award winning language software, offered free through many local library systems. Good for practicing their English, and remembering their Russian!

Kajeet mobile phones for kids.
http://www.kajeet.com/4u/index.html

Kajeet phone are finally available at Target and Walmart and the phones look like “normal” cell phones, unlike the FireFly kid mobile phones that look like toys. You buy the phone, activate it online, set up your controls, and then buy minute refill cards. No contracts (unlike Disney Mobile), no overages, and no HUGE bills – it’s all prepaid. It can even be part of your kids “allowance package” if you want. Katya got one of these phones before she went to visit my parents for a month this summer and she liked it.

You can lock the phone so that your kid can only make calls during certain times of the day (like you can make sure that no calls are made during school hours, or after bedtime!) and you can limit who your kid can call and who can call your kid (no boys for Katie and no telemarketers or 900 numbers)

It has games and ringtones that the kids can download for free, and it looks like a regular phone. You can set certain numbers to “always” be allowed – like your cell phone or home number, so they can call anytime day or night or while in school in case of emergency.

You can get one of the phones for around $20 and the minute cards are comparable to other companies’ rates.

VisaBuxx cards

I hate giving my kids cash – cash gets lost, spent inappropriately, etc. And our new American culture is becoming more and more “plastic” in our money. VisaBuxx cards are prepaid credit cards for teens that come with a bunch of online tools and educational resources to teach kids how to manage money, and use their credit cards wisely. Parents can set up auto refills on the cards from their own bank accounts for the kid’s allowance and other family members (grandparents) can “gift” your kids money onto this card for birthdays or good grades. You can also log on to a parent portal to monitor your kids spending and balance.