First, find the System Preferences icon on your desktop and click on it.

It looks like this:

Now look for “Accounts” and click that.

You’ll be taken to a screen where you can modify or add users to the computer. In order to set parental controls, your child will need their own user account. To create one, click the little + sign.

Keep the account “Standard”, and then fill out the rest of the fields before hitting “Create Account”.

Once you’ve done that, you’ll need to start setting the parental controls, so check the “Enable parental controls” box, and then click the “Open Parental Controls” button.

On the next screen, you’ll be able to set a number of controls and restrictions, including: app restrictions, website blocking, email limitations and time limits. These are organized by tabs at the top. You’ll see how useful these settings can be once you get going.

Let’s start with The Apps tab -

Here, you can limit the types of applications that your child has access to on their account. This includes everything from Firefox to Photo Booth.

It’s also important to set an age restriction for the app store. In the image I have it set to “up to 9+”, but you can always say “Do not allow” and block the app store altogether.

The Web tab –

This is probably the most important section of the parental controls as it allows you to block and allow certain websites. Now, you can go one of two ways: you can let Apple’s parental controls “try” and limit access to adult intended websites, or you can create your own list of allowed/blocked sites.

Clicking the “Customize” button brings up a box where you can type in whichever sites you deem appropriate or inappropriate for your child.

The Mail tab –

Setting limits here is fairly straightforward. Checking the two boxes at the top will allow you compile a list of email addresses that you allow your child to contact either through Apple’s mail system or iChat. Check the two boxes and then click the little + to begin adding allowed email addresses.

NOTE: If you don’t have the time to add email addresses to this list, then I recommend you disable the Mail and iChat applications. This can be done from the Apps tab. Then, when you have the time, you can come back and fill in this list.  Don’t just “skip” this part of the safety-enabling your Mac. This is too important.

You’ll also want to put your parent email address in the “Send permissions requests to” box. This sends you an email notification if your child tries to contact someone who’s not on the list of allowed contacts.

The Time Limits tab –

This tool is very useful if you want to limit the amount of time your kids spend on the computer during the week and/or the weekend. Just use the scroll bars to adjust the number of hours.

You’ll notice that you can also prevent access to the computer during certain times of the day, like bedtime.

The Other tab –

This tab just gives you a few more things to control. One of them is the ability to hide profanity in online dictionaries and sites educational resources like Wikipedia. You can also limit printer access and CD/DVD burning.

I do recommend that you check the “Disable changing the password” box. This will prevent your child from changing their own account password and possibly restricting your access to their account.

Finally, you’ll want to lock these changes so click the little lock in the bottom left corner. This will make it so that only you (assuming you’re the only one who knows the admin password) can change the parental control settings.

That’s it! Please be sure to pass this on to anyone you think would find it useful. And if you have any recommendations as far as parental controls go on Mac OS X, please feel free to share in the comments.

Yoursphere Media focuses on the family and publishes the kids social network, Yoursphere.com. Check it out with your children as an alternative to the adult-intended social networks.

Parents can help stop cyberbullying. You can start by talking to kids about the issue and teaching them the rules below that will help prevent cyberbullying from happening to them or someone they know.

What Kids Need to Know:

• Never give out personal information online, whether in instant message profiles, chat rooms, blogs, or personal websites.
• Never tell anyone but your parents your password, even friends.
• If someone sends a mean or threatening message, don’t respond. Save it or print it out and show it to an adult.
• Never open emails from someone you don’t know or from someone you know is a bully.
• Don’t put anything online that you wouldn’t want your classmates to see, even in email.
• Don’t send messages when you’re angry. Before clicking “send,” ask yourself how you would feel if received the message.
• Help kids who are bullied online by not joining in and showing bullying messages to an adult.
• Always be as polite online as you are in person.

Since most cyberbullying takes place at home, it’s important that parents know about cyberbullying and that they get involved in preventing it. Just like parents help their kids avoid inappropriate websites, they can protect them from cyberbullying.

What Parents Can Do

• Keep your home computer is a busy area of your house.
• Set up email and chat accounts with your children. Make sure that you know their screen names and passwords and that they don’t include any personal information in their online profiles.
• Regularly go over their instant messenger “buddy list” with them. Ask who each person is and how your children know him or her.
• Print this list of commonly used acronyms in instant messenger and chat rooms from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and post it by your computer.
• Discuss cyberbullying with your children and ask if they have ever experienced it or seen it happen to someone.
• Tell your children that you won’t blame them if they are cyberbullied. Emphasize that you won’t take away their computer privileges – this is the main reason kids don’t tell adults when they are cyberbullied.

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