The night I realized I had no idea
A couple of years ago I was doing the dishes while my oldest watched something on the tablet. He was six. I wasn't really paying attention — kids' channel, low volume, busy night. Then I glanced over his shoulder and the friendly cartoon he'd started with had quietly become something else. Not horrendous, but not something I'd have chosen. One video had rolled into the next, and somewhere in that chain the algorithm had stopped caring that the person watching was six.
It was a small moment. He wasn't upset. But I stood there with the tea towel and felt the floor shift, because I understood something I'd been ignoring: I had no idea what my children were actually seeing. We childproof the house and hold their hands across the road — then hand them a doorway to the entire internet and tell ourselves it's fine because it's "just YouTube".
I'm not a tech expert. My husband is.
I'll be straight with you, because the internet is full of people pretending to be something they're not. I'm not a cyber-security expert or a child psychologist. I'm a mom who got worried, then got stubborn about finding answers.
My husband is a cybersecurity professional with 12+ years in the industry. Between us, nothing on this site is guesswork: I research it as a mom, he pressure-tests it professionally, and we try the tools on our own boys' devices before I ever write a word. Some of what we bought was rubbish. Some of it worked. Everything I recommend, I believe because I watched it work — or fail — in my own house.
What I actually want for my boys
I'm not trying to lock my kids out of the internet. That's impossible and a mistake. They're going to grow up in a world where the internet and AI are simply part of how you learn, play and connect. I don't want them frightened of it. I want them fluent in it.
In our house the internet is a tool. The boys use educational apps that stretch them and play games that build something rather than just hoovering up attention. When my oldest asks an AI to explain something, we talk about what it is, what it isn't, and why you never tell it anything you wouldn't tell a stranger on a bus. My job is to walk beside them while they learn to stand their own ground.
Why I built this site
I put all this into one place because I'd done the hard work, and kept watching other moms start from scratch with the same fear. The same questions came up at the school gate: "What do you actually use?" "Is Roblox okay?" "How do I stop the screen-time fights?"
So that's what this is. Not a tech-support company. No affiliate links, no commissions, no sponsored lists — just the tested, kept-up-to-date version of what I'd tell a friend over coffee. I charge a small amount for the in-depth guide — about the price of a coffee and cake — because keeping it accurate takes real hours, and a tiny price keeps it honest. Everything that helps you decide whether it's for you stays free.
A quick note before you dive in: some of this touches on genuinely heavy things. If something here worries you about your own child, please don't sit with it alone — the eSafety Commissioner and Kids Helpline are there for exactly that. Everything serious is backed by people who study this for a living.
I'm just a mom who got worried, did the homework, and decided to share it. I'm so glad you're here.
— Lana