Parental control

It's hard not to second-guess your decisions.

I love the enrichment of my life that comes from access to modern technology and the internet. At the same time, I worry about how their influence overwhelms my life.

It's been a delicate balance managing it with our son. When he was young, the word was to not allow them to have a computer in their bedroom, put it in a public room where you can watch what they're doing.

And now access to all the evils of the internet is in his pocket. Parental control is a joke. We're just muddling through.

His computer is still in the room off the kitchen. At least we know what he's doing, even if we wish he did much less of it.

Although, every once in a while, it seems like it may work out. You wouldn't know by just listening in. He's playing a game with a friend from here who has moved with his family to Africa. My son tried to share his experience overseas with his friend before he left. But until he lived it himself, they didn't have that bond to share. Now they do.

So the boys are blowing off some stress playing computer games. For a few hours, these men-in-training are comrades-in-arms.

And that's a good thing.