There are multiple reasons why you, as a parent, might want to block websites from your child. The most obvious one is that you do not want your child exposed to adult content websites, but that is far from the only reason. For instance, you might decide that you do not want your child accessing chat room websites. You might, on the other hand, just want to block a website from your child because there was a problem with that website in particular. Another common reason that you might want to block websites from your child is as a punishment, if your child did something wrong.

As far as how to go about blocking websites from your child's view, the best way is by using parental controls. The good news is that newer computers, with operating systems on them such as Windows Vista, usually come with parental controls. In Windows Vista, you can access those controls by going to start/control panel/user accounts. Then, click on the tab labeled parental controls. From there, you can choose settings to block by particular website or general content. Furthermore, from there you can set up settings which control what programs your child can run, and what games they can play. You can even set it up so your child can only access the internet for a certain amount of time each day. The parental controls can even generate reports, which can show you everything your child does on the computer.

You can also use commercial internet filtering software to block websites from your child. There are many programs to choose from online. Some are capable of blocking websites by keyword. Some block specific categories of websites, such as chat rooms. What happens if you want to be able to access such websites, but you do not want your child to be able to? Well, many internet filtering software programs allow you to set up multiple user accounts. If you log in on your own account, you can have access to anything you want. While, if your child logs into their account, they will be blocked form whatever websites and activities you have set the internet filtering software to block them from. That sort of feature is also handy if you have children of different ages or responsibility levels. One child can have an account that blocks some things, while the other can be blocked from different things. It is very important to adapt the rules based on an individual child's age and attitude, after all.

You can even find internet filtering software programs that e-mail you whenever your child is accessing inappropriate materials.

So, investigate the built in parental controls that come with your operating system first. Then, if you feel the need, research some software programs online. Make sure you find the right internet filtering software to suit your needs. Do not just settle for the first program you come across or the cheapest one you find. Then you will be able to block websites from your child whenever and however you need to, in a discreet way, of course.