Setting up parental controls on your home network is a great way to ensure the safety of your children when they're browsing online. It's an easy way to limit what kind of websites they can visit and to monitor their internet usage. Thankfully, most routers come with built-in parental control features that you can customize to fit your needs. Here's how to set them up:

Firstly, log into the administrative console for your router. This is usually done by typing the IP address for your router into a web browser. Once logged in, you'll need to hunt for the ‘parental control’ option in the menus. Most routers will have this hidden away somewhere but if not, it might be called something else like 'access control' or 'content filtering'.

Next, activate this feature and then add any restrictions you deem necessary. You can configure time limits on certain devices and block certain websites from being accessed within your network. Some routers even let you create individual profiles so that each family member has their own security settings tailored specifically for them. Additionally, make sure you enable user authentication so only specific users can access the internet after entering a password - vital if you want complete control over who can use it!

Finally, remember that some apps require specific ports open in order for them to work properly with your network so don't forget to check these too! If there are any suspicious incoming connections or unrecognized traffic sources coming through while setting up parental controls then it's best to block them altogether as well as setting a secure admin password for logging in remotely later on down the line should you ever need to change any settings from afar.

In conclusion, setting up parental controls on your home network is an important step towards keeping kids safe online - once configured correctly it'll provide peace of mind and give you complete confidence that all family members are protected when using the internet at home!