A Wall Street Journal investigation finds websites that target children are much more likely to track your kids' Internet habits than websites that are geared toward adults.

The newspaper tested 50 different websites that are popular with teens and children to see how many cookies each site put on a computer. Among the sites tested were Disney.Go.com, PBSKids.org, Lego.com and Barbie.com.

The 50 sites collectively placed 4,123 cookies on computers. While some cookies can be helpful, many of the particular cookies (aka beacons) identified by The Wall Street Journal are used to track everywhere a child goes and deliver targeted ads.

In essence, these beacons allow marketers to develop dossiers on children and do mischief by targeting your kids with material that may be inappropriate for their age.

I never like to give a problem without a solution. That's why we've put together a guide that explains how to protect your kids on the web, with step-by-step instructions about removing tracker cookies.

Parents have the ultimate responsibility to control and know what their kids are doing on the web. That's why my wife and I insist that there be no TVs or computers in our kids' rooms. The children are only allowed to go online and watch TV in common areas where they can be monitored.

Meanwhile, are you paying attention to the terms of service at websites you use?

Time magazine reports when you agree to create an Instagram account, you are agreeing that they have the right to use your private photos in any way. They can even publicly display them! It's all spelled out in the pages and pages of mice type in their terms of service.

Likewise, Facebook's TOS reserves the right to track your activities even after you're no longer on their site. They have right to track every website you visit and tie it to your name and email address for 90 days.

USA Today ran a story spotlighting some photo-sharing alternatives to Instagram when word broke about a policy change that would allow possible commercial use of your photos on the service.

This is an area that calls for caution on your part. Very few people are going to read the TOS mice type, except maybe a newspaper reporter or a lawyer.

That's why I long ago told my daughter anything she posts online can be seen by prying eyes. We need to start treating our web surfing like a party line from the early days of telephone or a message board that can be publicly viewed by anyone.

The privacy you may expect isn't there. Things you may do in a minute can follow you for years if you're not careful.