Anti-Porn

I wrote a letter to Michael's grandparents yesterday. Writing letters to family who live far away is a very fun thing for me (even though I don't do it often enough). I view it in the same category as I do all my short stories about the boys growing up. It gives me a chance to think back on the last few weeks, and re-tell some of the amazing and humorous moments with our family.

One such moment happened just two nights ago.

I've written on the blog, many times now, about how Jacob is really walking in a new stage in life. He's now what the media calls a "tween", kids who are not quite teenagers, but not little kids anymore. I'm really having fun with Jake being in this stage right now. He's so witty, and our conversations have gotten a lot deeper.

With his new maturity, comes more school responsiblities. He has homework more often than last year, and is expected to finish his homework a lot sooner than last year as well. His homework has started to become somewhat research heavy. Michael decided it was time for Jake to get his own computer, to look up subjects on the internet.

We've all heard the news stories, and I'm sure we've all seen "To Catch A Predator" on Dateline. The internet is not a very safe place. While it's filled to the point of overflowing with great information, there is also the counter side of that. Demented ideas abound on the internet. Porn is easily available, even if you're not seeking it out. When talking about getting a computer set up for Jake, Michael and I decided that it would be best to put a filter of some sort on Jake's internet. Michael found a great program, that had many features that we thought would be necessary to keep the innocent eyes of a 9 year old stay innocent.

Michael, Jake, and I were all in Jake's room the other night, getting his computer set up for him. Michael explained all the rules to Jake about the internet and IM, and Jake was very understanding. Michael had already taken the opportunity to test out the filtering software and decided to show Jake an example of the filter. Every time something is inappropriate, a window with the words "Anti-Porn" shows on the screen, basically letting you know that the website you want to look at is not going to be viewed. Michael was satisfied with the settings on the filter, and gave the computer over to Jake.

Just before going online, Jake looked at me and asked, "Who's this Porn guy? And why doesn't anyone like him?"

So, with a straight face, Michael had to explain on a 9 year old level what porn is. When Jake heard the watered down facts of porn, he reacted with a great big "Ewwwww!" He ended up being very happy that we are so protective of his internet usage.

Now, Jake is our household weather man! Since he has his own computer, he has our local news station's weather site bookmarked so he can check the weather whenever he wants! He's also enjoying the fact that he can IM Michael and I, even though we're just downstairs. (Let me know if you'd like Jake's IM screenname to chat with him, we're only letting him add people with our permission).

He is really enjoying the fact that there are lots and lots of ideas on the internet. Tonight, we're going today to buy some PVC pipe. He found the plans for a marshmallow gun on the internet. :)