Parental Controls

Well, it's official...I'm the worst mother in the world. Oh well, I guess there are worse things, but I can't imagine what they are; boils, scurvy, worst driver in the world, biggest jerk award, etc. etc. Tyler (pictured) is really pissed at me. You see, I installed parental control software on his computer today. It's not the kind that blocks out everything - just the stuff I don't want him to see. I don't want him surfing porn sites (I would like to think that he doesn't go there anyway)...period. He is 13 going on 35 and I know what goes on in the mind of a 13 year-old boy as I used to be one myself - oops! Just kidding there! Anywho - I installed this software program. I am limiting him to 4 hours of internet access a day and I think that is pretty generous considering he really should be spending more time expanding his mind rather than shrinking it. I have no problem with him using the internet for things like homework, research, and occasionally chatting with his friends. I DO have a problem with him being on that damn thing 24/7! I have caught him on it in the middle of the night playing Runescape (an RPG-roleplay game- that I too really enjoy!)! I could hardly believe it. Well, this software will just log him off his computer at 9pm, and he cannot gain access on it again until 9am. Works for me...no more screaming, yelling, cursing, or otherwise losing my temper. Tyler on the other hand threatened to take a hammer to the computer because I blocked his Myspace access! He was very dramatic, pacing angrily, his brow furrowed, hands on his hips, and bellowing, "That's fine, I don't care. I'll just bust it all to pieces and it won't even matter." I had a very hard time keeping a straight face. I assured him with some tweaking, that loathsome site would once again be accessible to him and he wouldn't miss out on a single comment, pic, or vid. Of course, I wasn't really sure if I would be able to fix it or not, but I got there -- 2 1/2 hours later! By this time, Tyler had stormed upstairs, was hell-bent on tormenting his sister which is his 2nd favorite pastime to being online. I yelled for him and when he came down, I told him that his Myspace was once again accessible and that he owed me an apology. He muttered a pathetic, "I'm sorry" under his breath and demanded that I take him out for ice cream. HA! Not going to happen! Not after today's fiasco. And I didn't cave either! Aren't you proud of me? I simply told him that after all the time I spent working on his computer when I could be working on my own project, he deserved nothing more than a swift kick in the butt with a cold boot -- out comes the usual, "Whatever," and he logs into the computer.

What am I going to do with him? Its too late to send him back where he came from. Maybe the humane society would be able to find him a good home.

Sorry, Buddy - you know I love ya.