One of the biggest excuses for censorship is protecting innocent eyes from seeing not so innocent material. Understandably, this is a problem and a worry for many parents.

However, banning the material altogether is not the solution to this. Firstly, it may be the case that there are some things children should not see, but a rational adult should be able to choose for him or herself if they want to view the material. And secondly, censoring doesn't work. The general reaction to censoring is for sites to go underground - and as most youngsters know what they are doing on the 'net then their parents do, they will find them out.

So, what solution do StandAndBeCounted recommend? The first thing to remember is that the 'net is not and was never meant to be a babysitter. If you're concerned about what your child is seeing online, sit with him as he surfs. Put the computer in a family room where you can glance at the screen as you walk past, and just make sure that you do know what your child is looking at.

If this isn't possible, or you're still worried about what your child could stumble across by accident, then your best bet is to install a child filter such as NetNanny These will screen the sites a computer user tries to access, and make sure that they are indeed suitable.