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Ways To Help Keep Your Kids Safe On Their Digital Devices- Parental Control

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Parental Control Options for Your Kids

Working in the digital world means that I am always thinking of all the ways my kids safety online. Every single day we see things about kids getting into inappropriate situations online. Whether it is intentional or not, kids can get into inappropriate things so easily.  The internet has been part of their entire world. Keeping them safe is something that should be a priority for every parent.
 
There are three primary ways that parents can help guide a child’s online experience.  Parental controls are not a one-solution fits all.  There are always going to be ways that kids can “hack” the system.  The most important thing you can do is keep the lines of communication with your kids open.  Parental control options are there to help parents, but you still have to be involved in what they are doing.
  1. Parental controls for  monitoring all devices on the same operating system
  2. Applications you install onto each of your devices
  3. Devices that connect to your home wifi system

1.Parental Controls for Motoring All Devices On the Same Operating System

Both the Google Android and Apple platforms have family monitoring applications.  This is a great way to connect all of your phones and tablets to a single source to monitor what is downloaded on your kids devices.  You can also see their pictures, locate their device (helpful when lost) and see what applications they download, you can ban and block applications and more.

2. Parental Control Applications You Install On Each Device

This type of monitoring is a software that is downloaded onto all of the devices you want to monitor.  The advantage of this is that it works on multiple operating system platforms and allows parents to monitor activity of the users. This type of services is paid for monthly or with a yearly contract.  These services manage the device no matter where it is located.  If your child is at their friends, or at school the device is monitored by the application downloaded onto the device itself.  The control follows them everywhere.

There are several YouTube videos that show kids how to bypass these type of software.  The problem is that most of these services can only protect your kid from content they can already identify as inappropriate.  If the children have been known to find a workaround for the settings.  As an example of this please take a minute to watch a piece by ABC News here about just how smart these kids are.

3. Parental Control Devices that connect to your home WiFi system

When you have a child that is not using any kind of data plan for their devices, there is an option to have the internet monitored through devices that connect through WiFi on your home internet account.  There are actually a few very good options for monitoring every click your child makes on their device.  I was sent samples of two of the top rated family management devices to try with my kids. I set up the family monitoring through their device platforms.  The awesome feature of this option is that it doesn’t matter what platform your tech is on.  You can have a mix of Android, Apple, Smart TV’s, X-Box, and more.  These devices monitor the internet, so instead of connecting directly to the router, you connect them to this device that monitors all activity going through your internet connections.  The key here is that your kids cannot have access to your regular wifi.  That means you have to make sure your password isn’t something they can guess.

Parental Control for Managing Your Teenager’s Apps and Usage:

Let’s face it.  Kids are very smart.  They have been using smart phone technology their entire lives. Putting adults who remember days before dial-up at a bit of a disadvantage.  There are a few things that I would recommend for parents today.  First make sure you are monitoring your kids devices on the device level.  You can then see what they have downloaded.  If they download a new application that you are not sure about, download it on your own device and try it out.  Be aware that some applications are deceiving.  For instance did you know that there is a calculator app that hides pictures and texts from view?  Huffington Post has a great article on some of the sneaky applications to look for.  The problem is that there are millions of applications and more being made every single day.  As a parent it is important not to rely on these types of protections .
 
There is not a single option that is full-proof.  The best way to deal with technology is to talk to your kids and keep lines of communication open with them.  It is easier to watch and control younger kids. As they get older we all know that the access they have to the internet is harder to control.

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Comments

  1. Kelly says

    Thank you! This post was so helpful! My daughter just got a Chromebook for Christmas and I’m a tech dunce! This helped me choose an app to monitor her screen time!

    Reply

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Ways To Help Keep Your Kids Safe On Their Digital Devices- Parental Control

Parental Control Options for Your Kids Working in the digital world means that I am always thinking of all the ways my kids safety online. Every single day we see things about kids getting into inappropriate situations online. Whether it is intentional or not, kids can get into inappropriate things so easily.  The internet has been part of their entire world. Keeping them safe is something that