‘90s Family : Safe Surfing on the Net

If you don’t want your children freewheeling around the Internet, check out CompuServe’s “Internet in a Box for Kids.” The program ($49.95) gives them access to the Net with some restrictions and directs them automatically to a home page that includes games and links to other suitable sites. Inappropriate sites are shielded by SurfWatch, a watchdog program. Call (800) 777-9638 for details.

Events

Holiday camps for children begin Tuesday in Newport Beach, Corona del Mar and Costa Mesa. Prices vary depending on programs. Themes include horses, music, art and drama, tennis, gymnastics and paleontology. To register, visit the Community Services office at 3300 Newport Blvd., Newport Beach, or call (714) 644-3151 . . . Children can learn to make safe and loud noisemakers in the Loft at the Los Angeles Children’s Museum. Tuesday through Dec. 31. Admission to the museum is $5. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (The museum closes at 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 31.) 310 N. Main St., Los Angeles. Call (213) 687-8801 for information.

Briefly

The National Assn. of Parenting Publications Awards, a guide for children’s gifts, is in the December issue of L.A. Parent magazine. The NAPPA report highlights children’s books, music, software, videos and toys with emphasis on educational as well as entertainment value. Items were judged by educators, editors and authors. “We scrutinize each entry so parents can be totally confident that each winner reflects superior quality and age appropriateness,” says Martha Dewing, a NAPPA judge and publisher of the Children’s Video Report . . . Stay-at-home moms take note: A MOMS chapter has been formed in the South Bay/Beach Cities area. The club helps with play groups for children, baby-sitting co-ops, exercise classes and get-togethers. Call (310) 374-7630 for information . . . The Hollenbeck Police Business Council/Hollenbeck Youth Center is working on its 15th annual Christmas Projects for needy children and low-income families. Call (213) 263-4989 to see how you can help . . . The San Francisco-based Family Violence Prevention Fund has a site on the World Wide Web to give Internet users access to information on battery. Address: https://www.fvpf.org/fund . . . “The Parent’s Answer Book” (Fairview Press), written by Los Angeles parenting experts Gerald Deskin and Greg Steckler, answers 101 of the questions parents most frequently ask.

* This family roundup appears on Wednesdays. Items to be considered should be mailed 3 1/2 weeks before the event to Candace A. Wedlan, Family File, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053. Fax: (213) 237-4888.