My belief is that we need to give our kids the tools to be safe rather than simply avoiding the internet. I have heard of so many schools doing more and more of their school work on tablets or iPads, more people purchase these devices and it makes the access to the internet more readily available.
This is where Kiddle, a new search engine created by Google comes in. It filters sites with explicit or deceptive content and brings up content that has been either checked and handpicked by Kiddle editors or that is filtered by Google safe search. The results? No chance of accidentally (or maybe purposely) getting to internet websites that are not appropriate for little eyes.
Kiddle pulls up content based on 3 tiers.
The first 1-3 results that show up after a search are safe sites with content written specifically for kids. The content is handpicked and checked by Kiddle editors. The next 4-7 results are from safe and trusted sites that are written for kids. Content is written in simple language making it easier for kids to read and understand and is also handpicked and checked by Kiddle editors. The results from around the 8th website are from famous websites written for adults. They are harder for kids to understand but provide expert content. This content is filtered by Google safe search.
Keeping your kids safe
If someone is looking up something they aren’t supposed to be or if they just push random buttons like mine, Kiddle has your back. When I searched a bunch of random words such as “poop” “pee” and some other words that fall under the swear category every time the angry robot came up. When I did finally get results from searching some of the words I used (pick your nose) the first website that came up was about creating animals noses for crafts. (Guess what comes up on non Kiddle search engines…NOT crafts)
If you don’t like that website come up after searching certain works, Kiddle also gives you the chance to block additional websites and keywords if need be. It also doesn’t collect any personal identifiable information and the logs are deleted every 24 hours.
Making it easier
In terms of ease of accessibility the websites that do come up will feature bigger thumb nails to allow kids more of a visual of what the content includes. This makes it especially good for kids that do not read as fast. There is also bigger font which improves the readability for kids.
Have you or your children tried Kiddle yet? What do you think? All I can say is thank you Google for helping to make it safer for kids to be online!