“Mommy, why would anyone WANT to look at those things on the computer?” 

Oh the sweet, sweet voice of innocence. This is from a conversation I had with my children in the van on the way home from church this past week. Children do not understand and are not aware of the dangers that await them online. As a parent, it is my job to protect their hearts and guard their eyes to the best of my ability.

In the past few weeks I have had the opportunity to sign my girls and I up for a sexual purity class at my church, sign up for an online {free} webinar from Shirley Solis on the same topic, introduce my kids to the term porn/pornography and write this review for Covenant Eyes. To say that this subject is on my mind is an understatement. As a mom, I am very concerned with protecting my children from these things, but also introducing them to these topics in age appropriate ways.

Covenant Eyes is a computer based software that you download onto your computer that will give you internet/online accountability AND filtering as you browse the internet. Covenant Eyes tracks your online visits and clicks. Not only will this software work on your desktop, but also your smart phones, iPads, any device you have! The way the internet accountability works is that you set up an accountability “partner” so to speak…all the sites you visit are tracked,  an email is sent to your accountability partner, just someone you trust to help you guard your family online! This person you trust will be able to see how much time you spend online, what sites you visited, etc.

Take a moment to read these statistics on the Covenant Eyes website. Go ahead, I’ll wait here. It’s important.

While you’re at it, look at these 10 surprising facts about pornography.  As a parent, here is the most scary from this report:

51% of men say they first viewed porn before the age of 13 years.

I believe that in today’s culture of media and technology at our finger tips, 24/7, as believers, ESPECIALLY as believers, we have to be willing to take a stand and protect our hearts, guard our eyes and the hearts & eyes of our family as well!! We cannot just sit by and say that “it’s just the way men are wired,” or “boys will be boys,” which are comments I have heard with my own ears from other believers. I firmly believe that we need to be proactive in the lives of our sons (and daughters!) by protecting them as much as we can. Can we protect and shelter them 100%? No. But, children do not understand the dangers, and until they do, we need to be protecting them from these things.

What about cost? Covenant Eyes costs $8.99 per month for your filtering and accountability services. Please read more here about the value of accountability and fitting this service into your budget. You can also choose to pay annually as opposed to monthly.

Overall I am very pleased with having Covenant Eyes on our computers at home. I do not like that at times it seems to slow things down…but the more I have thought about that, the more I see the error of my thinking in that. Is protecting the hearts and eyes of my children more important than me having an internet site pop up in .02 seconds? OF COURSE. When I look at it that way, there is nothing I would want to do differently. I’m so thankful that there are services, like Covenant Eyes, that help me to help my family in this huge battle. I am grateful.

I’ve shared lots of links with you about Covenant Eyes, please go here if you are ready to sign-up. There is also a tutorial on this page if you need help getting it downloaded onto your computers.

More Resources from Covenant Eyes

• Free ebook on what Porn does to your brain
• Full report on porn statistics 
• More ebooks available
• Webinars you can watch online