This is a copy of a USA TODAY newsletter my Mom received in her email. Right now even though I am only 10 years old, I am on the honor system. My parents trust me to follow all the safety rules when surfing the Net. If they find out I don't, then I will have my adult level access on AOL reduced to teen or child level. If that doesn't work, I guess they will probably have to use some of the solutions that are suggested here.

Kids, being allowed on the Internet is a privilege. Our parents did have this neat stuff when they were kids. We need to respect the rules of safety at all times. The consequences can mean death, which has happened already because some kids didn't think the rules were important. That is a high price to pay for breaking a rule, but that is just the way it is.

Don't trust anyone on the Internet, not even me. You don't really know if I am 10 years old or an adult who has done bad things to kids already. All you really know for sure is that I have a web site and that I say I am 10 years old.

The continuing debate over whether the government can "child-proof" the Internet makes it clear that there's no simple solution on the horizon. That leaves parents, more than ever, on their own. While the courts are deciding how (or whether) the Net should be regulated, there's help for parents and others who supervise kids. "Over three dozen technology tools are available to help parents select appropriate online content for children," says Lorrie Faith Cranor of AT&T Labs-Research. She has evaluated the tools and has found a broad range that can block "inappropriate" content in various ways, as well as suggest educational sites or monitor online activities. Some provide what she calls "a safe playground" where children are restricted to recommended sites, while others conduct Web searches that return only child-appropriate content. "When combined with active parental involvement, these tools provide a wide variety of options," Cranor says, but "there is no one-size-fits-all solution that will work for every family." Here are a few tools that can help lighten the load of parents launching kids into cyberspace: Filtering and monitoring.

The most popular type of tool involves filtering or blocking software, such as Net Nanny, SurfWatch and CyberPatrol, to name a few. Some of these packages, which range in price from about $30 to $50, include "subscriptions" for updates of Web sites that the program blocks. Some filtering programs share features with monitoring software such as CyberSnoop and Smart Filter, both of which log a child's computer activity. Filtering programs are designed to prevent children from accessing Web sites that are deemed inappropriate; they often also work for Internet newsgroups, e-mail and chat rooms. Some also prevent kids from giving out personal information such as addresses and phone and credit card numbers. Some online services, including America Online, have built-in filters that parents can turn on with a few clicks. Many Internet access providers also offer filtering on the provider's end so parents don't have to install the program on their computers. Browsers for kids. Choices include ChiBrow, KidDesk and Surf Monkey, a free Web browser from MediaLive for ages 7-12. Surf Monkey puts kids in a "rocketship," where they cruise cyberspace with an animated monkey as host and a SurfWatch-enabled robot for a bodyguard. (He also blocks communication with strangers by e-mail and chat.) News sites such as CNN.com are not blocked, but adult words and phrases that can appear there (such as some in the Starr report) are replaced with asterisks.

A new Net for kids. Launched in Australia by a criminal lawyer, Kidz.Net aims to create a walled-in copy of the Internet for kids. With more than half a million Web sites in its database, Kidz.Net works in conjunction with endorsed providers to prevent access to the "outside" Net unless a password is given by adults. This software package (price to be announced) is set to arrive in the USA by the start of January. Says the company's Roger Felice: "It's smaller, safer and simpler" than the Net itself. Disney is exploring a similar concept with its Daily Blast, a service with more than 100 activities daily. Subscriptions cost $5.95 a month or $39.95 a year.

Among Web directories and search sites for kids is Yahooligans! from the folks at Yahoo! More information, including safety tips and details on Internet training classes for parents and links to good sites for kids, are at America Links Up!, a Web site produced recently as a joint government-industry initiative to create resources for families online.