Post #1153195
2026-04-14 10:15 UTC
Replies (6)
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@mdione@en.osm.town 2026-04-14 10:36
@JorisMeys my kids' (6/8yo) does not have internet. I still don't really know how to approach that yet. #parenting
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@schuemaa@ecoevo.social 2026-04-14 11:00
@JorisMeys I have setup OpenDNS Family Shield on the kids' Ubuntu laptop (https://www.opendns.com/home-internet-security/). I am sure they'll find a way around that at some point.
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@gooba42@mastodon.social 2026-04-14 12:03
@JorisMeys Granted it's tech heavy but it's not hard tech - I have AdGuard Home running on an always-on mini PC and all the PCs are set up to use it as their DNS and live on a Tailscale VPN together. With the VPN, the protection can follow wherever the computer goes.
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@fritzoids@mas.to 2026-04-14 12:31
@JorisMeys our approach has been to have the screens facing a direction that is easily seen by a passing parent. That is not a solution that works for everyone, though. I've also told them that some things cannot be unseen. That the internet is full of things that are wonderful but also things that are disturbing or even nightmare material. So to tread carefully and if in doubt talk to me about it. Also: other people's screens might be showing disturbing stuff... They are now 11 and 13.
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@frantictdrinker@mastodonapp.uk 2026-04-14 13:02
@JorisMeys Linux Mint is a good choice, it runs well on old hardware and is an active distribution. By default it has a good variety of software but its not specifically aimed at children, it is safe for them though. It has a built in firewall that needs to be enabled. I would install Clam antivirus as well. After that it's just a matter of choosing and installing what software you want. There are specific educational distributions out there, such as Edubuntu, to consider. Edubuntu is active and like Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu which in turn is based on Debian. They're on Mastodon as well. @edubuntu I would be inclined to dual boot or run them in VMs to see how they perform for you. Apologies if you are already aware of the above.
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@rspfau@ecoevo.social 2026-04-15 02:49
@JorisMeys When you say silly stuff, what do you mean? Like messing up the computer by typing random stuff in the terminal, or changing a lot of settings? Use Timeshift to roll back to a previous state (plus non-admin account). If it's parental controls of what they see and do on the internet, that's a whole different ball game. Your kid will soon be able to get around most anything if they want to. But some ideas are here: https://www.digitalzen.app/blog/how-to-set-up-safe-browsing-for-kids-linux/