just a bit,why dont you just lock them in a cuboard,am sure they wont recent you for it

no you should always know what your kids are up to.... yeah they might hate u for invading their privacy but thats normal.

In my opinion, yes. But I would not fault you for it, they are your child and it is your responsibility to raise them. I will not presume to question an action that does not harm them.

I suppose, but it depends on the child. If your kid may be susceptible to phishing or the like, Maybe. But i mean with the intention of spying or watching their online activity. Another option is to use things like Go To My PC and various other programs to view your child.

NO if this is determined initially. It may be proper. Read on. You and your children must have clear communication as to the websites, and their levels of responsibility. They need to involved in this at the beginning of their access of internet sites and content of these sites. It is the responsibility of the parent with the child's input to decided limits. Parents need the ability to "look over their shoulder" in the same manner they screen and allow written content to enter the house. If this means programs that allow parents to lock out some content/websites or to see the material the children have viewed, that needs to be communicated up front. I do not believe it fair or proper to discipline after the fact with no clear communication prior. If you expect them to follow the same standards as their school has on the computers or their church/religious authorities announce, that needs to be communicated up front. The children also need to be informed very clearly what discipline will be and how severe. I have no magic formula's or answers, but think they should be no more or less than a parent would allow if computers did not exist. They haven't really changed anything except the availability and format of undesirable material.

Not in my opinion if that child is a minor and lives with you. I think it's a parents right and whether they choose to use it or not is up to them.

If you are not going to trust them, why give them a computer period.

I would say it would be an ideal thing to do. But the child should be made aware that there is spyware installed. The knowledge itself will keep the child in the right path. Also you must counsel the children properly so that they don't go elsewhere to use a computer for whatever you might consider objectionable. In the final analysis it will be the 'talk' that will give better results than the spyware.

Your first responsibility is to educate yourself as to the many dangers of the Internet. The next step is to share such knowledge with your child. Finally, indicate that you intend to monitor (not "spy" on) the traffic so that no harm may come to him/her. It would be helpful to gain the child's understanding, appreciation and acceptance for your shared protective help. To answer your question, I feel it would be "wrong" for you to fail to protect your child from the insidious elements known to exist throughout the Internet world with as much diligence as you would from the same known to you right down the street.

Spyware is not really for spying now is it? Sit at the computer with your child and learn together!!

Spyware might be a little excessive, I think parental controls should be enough. Firefox especially, has many add-on controls that can be customized to block/allow certain words and websites. And they usually need a password to be disabled.

Who bought and paid for the computer? An adult? or the child? if an adult bought it, regardless of who uses it, it belongs to the adult. Install whatever you desire on YOUR computer - it's yours and you should protect it.

YES !! whats the point of doing so? if they were doing bad stuff online what ur going to do ? punish them ? do u think that will help? i dont think so,, u should teach them whats right and wrong, and u leave the rest for them. otherwise they will do whatever u punish them for behind ur back, and they will never learn. plus they will be scard for life!! i mean there own parents dont trust them!!

no i dont think wrong but if do look up porn talk to them dont punish them explain to them

Not as a responsible adult it is not.

No, but you might want to cut the umbilical cord after the child reaches a certain age.

NO!! . Look at all the children talking to sick old men that just wanna rape and kill them! Don't you think that those parents wish they would have had more control over what their children did on the internet!? I have 3 children 2 of them use the internet on a regular basis I told them I can see everywhere they go on the internet! I will not hide the fact that we want to know what they look at! . I ask my children to be honest with me and they get the same in return!

No. You are the parent. It is your job to protect and defend you children. It is a scary world out there. Did the child buy the computer with their own money? Is it in your house? Does the kid pay for his/her own internet service? I doubt it. It's yours. Do what you want with it.

well, where i come from, parents should prvide children with computer,internet ..etc if they can afford it, so paying for that doesnt mean that u have to control them and spy on them ! dont buy it then if ur gonna say that :S .. children need direction to grow -> i agree with that ofcourse, but spying id wrong,, just teach them wright and wrong, listen to them when they do anything wrong, tey to know why the did it, be open and honest so they can be the same with u , but spying and controling them will not do u anygood, u have to start from the begining and to plant good behvior on them sinice day one, then it will grow by caring :) *sorry if my English is bad , its not my first languge*

You would be better off by putting a tracking cookie on the computer and have a password for the cookie so the child can't delete the history that where they were on the internet. Also put a lock onto the history tab thats beyond the favorites.

If they are under 18 and still live under your roof, you make the rules.

It's wrong to put spyware on any computer...

Yes. If they're old enough to need it, chances are they already know how to break it. So if you do, for god's sake explain it to them, otherwise they'll just have more reason to distrust you.

NO it is NOT .... If anyone saw those DATELINE reports .. we'd all know just what can happen with undeage kids on computers ... That is why computers belong in the living room or family room ; NOT in a bedroom .... Also; a parent should frequently check to see what is going on with the child as they are at the computer ... And; add your spyware ... it might save your child's life ...

No, it might save their lives. Children simply have bad judgment.

No, I don't think it's wrong to put some sort of monitoring program on a child's computer (either to block or track content). When they turn 18, however, I believe that monitoring software should be removed.

That's a tough one, Spicy. I don't believe in invading your child's privacy, going through his/her belongings or eavesdropping on conversations. However, with the dangers that lurk out there for young children, I think it would be awfully tempting to put some kind of protection on the computer just to document where/what your child is going and doing in cyberspace. I'm glad I don't have to make that decision since my son is grown. I have great sympathy for those parents who are faced with that situation. :)

No,it is not to keep bad people away from our kids.!!!

Considering the degree of inappropriate material you child could be exposed to, you'd be negligent if you didn't consider that as an option. Either that or placing the computer is an area where you can closely monitor the child's activities. Where your child's safety is concerned, it's better to err on the side of caution.

Is it wrong to put a condom on your penis? It's called protection.

is it wrong to not give cookies?? http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/1284443

i think parental control is enough, i know the passwords and usernames of both my children and often check them

OOO thats a tough one.. My cousin (17) was sleeping with her teacher and her dad found out and told the cops and stuff and now she hates him for spying on her!

First off use the correct name for it. Spyware is an unwelcome intrusive program that harms your computer by stealing information about what you are doing to send you pop up adds, porn dialers and generally slow or crash your computer. what you need is something akin to parental control software. This will let you set what content your kid can search for and view. The good ones will let you block whole websites and search words, along with content types. I'm sorry to sound like a jerk but it's completely idiotic to be a parent and think it's a better idea to "spy" on your kids to try and catch them doing something than being preemptive and just preventing them from getting to the stuff you don't want them to get at until they are old enough to be responsible about it in the first place.

yes

I have a child and I want to see what are they doing but I don't know how.Can someone please tell me

I would hate if my parents did that to me. Maybe if I proved to be untrustworthy, it would be understandable. However, I'd probably feel like they don't trust me if they spied on me. I don't think I'd want to tell them anything ever again. I'd probably also spend more time at my friends to get away from their controlling behaviour. I know that would probably make it worse and make them trust me less, but how can one be happy in an environment where he or she feels untrusted? Just my 2 cents.

I wouldn't like it if my parents had done that. However I don't think its wrong, no. We all know that the internet can be a dangerous place for kids, and you can't supervise them or be sure that they are safe the way you can in every day life. I think it would be very wise to do so.

not if they're a fan of porno stuff and related topics. better keep an eye out on those. >_>

absolutely not

If it is for a good purpose then definitely not wrong!

yes because they would do that to their kids and spyware is bad. i have antispyware.

Depends on who purchased the computer and who is paying the gas & electric.

absolutly not, it is our responcability to protect our children

Depends on the child

I dont use spyware....I use blocks.....and it keeps them from any content that is useless for my childrens agegroups, instead of knowing they had watched it. I prefer to not have to worry about that stuff and just take it out before they come upon it.