Children’s search engine, Kiddle, makes it safer for kids browsing the Internet

A search engine for kids provides some relief for parents

The safe-search search engine known as Kiddle has grown in popularity since its inception. For parents, this search tool has provided some sort of relief for when their kids are browsing the Internet unsupervised.

Kiddle has described itself as being a visual search engine for kids, powered by editors and Google safe search. It is important to note that Kiddle is not a Google product but only shares a search engine bar.

So how does it work? Much like when you turn on your SafeSearch option on Google, when you search something on Kiddle, the search bar strips out adult content search results and shows child-friendly results.

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Kiddle has the option for parents to submit certain keywords that they feel are inappropriate for kids so Kiddle can add them to their blocked list.

The Internet can have many negative effects on kids browsing unsupervised. “Children could be learning things that are untrue, and possibly harmful. They can also be exposed to information that they are not yet old enough to process. This could shock and scare them, leaving them with negative associations with that particular topic,” said Claudia Abelheim, educational psychologist and head of Youth Service at The Family Life Centre (Famsa Johannesburg).

Taking Internet security precautions only in your home is no longer enough. “Children can also access the Internet through phones and tablets, and in the homes of their friends, so it is also useful to make sure that your children’s friend’s parents are on the same page as you are,” Abelheim continued.

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It is very important that parents forge a trusting relationship with their kids. “They should be able to access their child’s account – but they shouldn’t.” In return, the children must know that the parents can see their browser history but are choosing not to invade that privacy.

With technology growing at such a rapid rate, it is very important that parents try to keep up with it because if they are not knowledgeable. “It becomes dangerous when children know things that their parents don’t understand, as that then makes it hard for parents to regulate what they are doing,” concluded Abelheim.

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