Parental tools offer more than just filtering. If you've installed parental control software, you may find a range of tools on offer.
Some tools allow parents to set time limits to online activities. This allows the parent to restrict access to the internet, or to certain types of websites at certain times - for example to block social networking during homework time.
Other tools let you monitor your child's online activity - so, for example, you can see which websites they have been viewing and how long they were online for. Some more advanced parental control software even provides parents with reports on their child's social networking activity.