Nowadays, various gadgets and technologies have consumed society completely. Children from early childhood spend too much time online on their devices. There are many positive things in these actions because of educational purposes or the availability of various online resources. But, at the same time, there are many adverse effects, such as negative and often envy content that propagates violence in different forms. That is why it is the primary task of parents to secure their children from the adverse impact of Internet resources. The parental control means and strategies will be the most helpful here.
Hard Artillery – Help of Mobile Applications
It is quite understandable that parents would like to know what their children watch or with whom they chat online. And it is a normal thing, of course, when it does not reach the measures of helicopter parenting. An adequate parental control may be ensured with the help of mobile applications, which may track the time your children spend online or offer other important things.
If you need to monitor your child’s social surroundings further and listen to the conversations of family members, you will need a mobile spy app for Android or iOS, which is easy to download and install on your smartphone. It will be useful for monitoring children and their activity online. However, we would not recommend using it against adults without their consent because this could end up in a lawsuit.
How Do These Programs Work
To use the phone control service, personal registration is required on the developer’s website. Not all such applications are available on the Play Market or App Store. When registering, you need to remember the login and password to log in to the service and confirm your phone number or e-mail address. Spyware programs differ from each other in the functions of control and the types of information that can be taken from your children’s smartphones and provided to you. This can be a screenshot, list of calls, SMS, or call records. This information may be useful to prevent the penetration of any suspicious person into the private life of your children. Nowadays, it is necessary to be ready for different scenarios. You may install these apps secretly on your child’s phones, but we would recommend being open with your children and communicating all such things in order to maintain friendly and trusting relationships.
Useful Settings Tips
The following things can be available while using the parental control mobile applications and programs on iOS and Android devices.
- Breaks. You will set the amount of time the child can use the device without interruption. It is possible to set the hours for each day of the week. Calls and only allowed applications will be available during the break.
- Application limits. You can select a program to ban or a category of programs (such as games, communication) or sites. After selection, the time of permitted use of particular programs within the days of the week is set.
- Communication limits. This is permission to communicate via mobile communication within the screen time and breaks.
- Always allowed. This is a list of programs that will be available during the break (the time when the child can not fully use the device).
- Content and privacy. We are talking about permission or prohibition to install and uninstall programs and content restrictions. Regarding privacy – we are talking about the use of geolocation services and sharing of the location.
Piece of Advice For Families
The main lifehack for families is to use family access. Family access can be used for both iOS and Android devices. This is a very useful thing that will allow all family members to share applications, buy something online, and create shared media libraries with movies, documents, music, and e-books. Users will be added to family access by an administrator – mom or dad, for example. Access for the whole family will save money and will help to conveniently manage subscriptions. In such a way, the parents will know which applications and services their children use.
Final Words
Parental control is a crucial thing to ensure the security of your children online. Currently, it is crucial to understand that online security is equal to security in real life because these two spheres are interconnected nowadays and determine the success of your children in education and in their social life.