Technology

When "parenting" consisted of making sure the rugrats were off the streets by the time the streetlights came on in the evening, it was a little lower maintenance than today.

Now, they have multiple global access terminals in the home, open 24-7-365, that can connect them to anyone/anything anywhere anytime. The physical threats of broken bones, abduction, etc. are less than in Beaver Cleaver's neighborhood, but these days you don't have to worry about the one drug dealer that got chased from the neighborhood last year, these days they can have anything delivered "in discrete packaging" if not to your home then to a convenient parcel pickup box not far from the school bus stop.

They can get into video-chats with law enforcement agents trolling for child-sex, they can access porn you didn't know existed, and they can do it all from "safe mode" of their phone browser after "lights out." Smuggling a porno mag to look at under the covers by flashlight has gone far far more more interactive and easily hidden.

My approach is to confront the challenges in the open. When the OnlyFans.com charge shows up on the bank card, sit down and talk about how paying for sexy things isn't good for either party. Don't take away the bank card, don't take away the internet access, try to teach why the whole thing is a bad idea. I suppose if it gets to be a habitual problem then denying access is the next step, but with respect to internet problems, I don't think we've had that issue yet (after 45 child-years...) Other habitual problems requiring access denial? Sure. All depends on your particular circumstances, but attempting to deny internet access seems like a seriously losing battle in today's landscape.