Friday, August 7, 2009

Top 3 Internet Web Browsers for Kids

Ok, so got yourself the best anti-virus and best firewall solution your free budget can afford. Can you now let your 5-year old use your computer while you pick-up and read the morning papers downstairs?

Not quite. The internet is a good online resource; keeping a lot of us connected. It is also because of this "connectivity" that the internet has been exploited to carry out devious scheming as well.

Good thing there are browsers now specially created with kids in mind. Parents can now let their children surf the net knowing they won’t accidentally stumble upon inappropriate content.

Common Features of the Browsers Featured:
 • Colorful interface optimized for kids
 • Password-protected Control Panel for administrative functions
 • Desktop lockdown with Ctrl+Alt+Del disabling
 • Customizable themes/colors
 • Set time restrictions – time in, time out, duration
 • Various activity centers – doodle, paint, online games, puzzles, etc.
 • Pre-approved list of allowed web sites

KidZui – Internet for Kids
KidZui is a web browser, search engine, and online playground for kids aged 3 to 12 years old. It was developed during the summer of 2006 by KidZui, Inc. and was later offered to the general public on March 19, 2008. KidZui is FREE to all families but also offers paid membership for extra benefits.

With KidZui, parents know what their kids are doing online and they can connect by sharing content. KidZui sends a weekly email that tells you what your kids are doing online. The KidZui parent account lets you share content and set limits.

This is probably the safest and most full-featured kiddie browser available for parents as it is even being backed by toy manufacturer giant – Mattel.

Added Features Summary:
 • Add individual websites
 • Largest number of games, websites, videos and photos
   reviewed
 • Accounts include all the kids in your family
 • E-mailed reports of your kid's online activity
 • Kid's online activity graphed for 30 days
 • Top 10 recently viewed content of your kid's activity
 • Express your style and create your own Zui
   (dress it with fun clothes and accessories)
 • Join the community and make parent approved friends
 • Share your favorite content with friends
 • Rate content with cool Tags and watch popularity meter as content gets hotter
 • Search suggestions and spelling corrections

My Kids Browser
A multi-awarded kid-safe web browser with an engaging rich graphic interface optimized for children. Offered only as shareware, parents can download a free trial though to allow them to see how they can keep their children safe on the internet.

One strong feature of My Kids Browser is that it is capable of analyzing added web sites for porn, explicit materials, chat rooms, and other unsafe contents. It even warns parents if a web site has a search engine that kids can use to freely roam the web.

If you have the bucks to spare, you can never go wrong with this one. With onetime payment, you get unlimited updates and no monthly fees.

Added Features Summary:
 • Add individual web sites with Web-page analyzer
 • History area that lets you see where your kids have been
 • Pop-up blocker (configurable)
 • Enable/disable the printer and search bar
 • View how long your children have used the internet
 • Unlimited updates / auto-update checker

KidRocket KidSafe Browser
This is a stand-alone browser application - it runs from within itself, no install needed. Instead of letting access to the whole world wide web and trying to filter out the bad content like most children’s internet browsers do, KidRocket blocks out the entire internet and only lets access to limited, top quality, and child-related web sites.

Although it is offered for free, older kids may find it very limiting eventually as it only allows a limited selection of (but definitely for kids) approved web sites namely:

• www.nick.com
• www.tvoKids.com
• www.sfsKids.com
• bbc.co.uk/cbeebies
• www.barbie.com
• www.disney.com

   • KidRocket.org
   • www.pbsKids.org
   • www.hotWheels.com
   • www.crayola.com
   • www.cartoonNetwork.com
   • www.starFall.com
   • www.sesameStreet.com

Added Features Summary:
 • Designed to be simple to use
 • Full featured children’s web browser, internet filter.
 • Interactive math flashcards with configurable math equations.
 • Allow/Block use of printer and e-mail
 • Built-in popup blocker
 • New Email for Kids with Art/eCard attachments
 • Now provides vocal prompts and confirmations

6 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing those great sites but I think I'll save the paper for later and still keep an eye on where the kids are surfing ;D

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  2. I have tried KidZui and KidRocket (the latter being the easier to use) and (so far) both seem to work as advertised.

    Still, nothing beats personal supervision by mom (or dad).

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  3. Thanks for the info. I had been searching for child safe browsers to protect my kids.

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  4. Glad to be able to shed some info on it Adam

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  5. I'm glad to see Playstation mention that nothing beats personal supervision by mum or dad.

    I recently had a few problems with one of my kids getting out of control on the internet (despite me watching him on and off whenever he was online).

    He is only 10 but he is very clever and if I sat him in front of a kid's browser he would be out of it and using Firefox again in a flash if I took my eyes off him.

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  6. You got one clever kid there Lee.

    What I did with mine is I created a separate Windows account for my daughter - no password but limited privileges. As soon as she logs, kiddie browser starts automatically.

    She won't be able to close it or log out of Windows unless she knows the "parent" password.

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