I've been Googled

Not too long after school started (yes, I really am THAT behind sometimes - welcome to my world), I walked into the kitchen and Jacob said, "Julie, I didn't know you wrote for the Texas Health Moms." 

Me, perplexed, (but also sort of jazzed that he sounded...was it? Yes! Proud!) : Yes, I try to send them a couple posts a month. But what makes you say that, J?

J: I just didn't know. I saw Sam's picture on the "Room of His Own" story.

Me: oh, ok. Did you like the story?

J: yeah. The picture of Sam is funny.

Me: so, J, how did you find the Mom blog? 

J: Google.

Yep, I've been Googled ... by my 11-year-old! 

It turns out that J actually was "looking" (his word) for pictures of Sam (queue "awwwww" for him being such a wonderful big brother) and found my first entry here on Texas Health Moms. He knows I keep a personal blog, and I would imagine he was actually looking for that when he found Texas Health Moms. 

But that brief exchange got me thinking...what else has he Googled? 

Bryan and I are well aware of the potential dangers of the Internet. Computers are only used in public areas in the house (not in bedrooms or other private places), and permission must be granted for playing online games. (There are a couple of educational game sites that the boys' teachers have recommended that we typically say okay to them playing.) We remind the boys not to go to any website without asking, and not to ever, ever, ever give out any kind of identifying information on any site. 

But now that I know J has Googled me/us, the game has changed, hasn't it? I can't help but wonder what else he's found - on purpose or inadvertently - in his searches. What do you do to help ensure your kids' Internet safety, and that they aren't getting more than they (or you) bargained for?

Julie Daneman is wife to Bryan, Stepmom to Jacob and Caleb, and Mommy to Sam. They are a boisterous, loving, happy interfaith family.