How to Monitor Your Kids’ and Family’s Phones and Computers?
The Digital World Could Be a Scary Place ????
As per a latest report, over half of all children between the ages of 8 and 12 already have their own mobile phone. Almost 40 percent of children younger than 2 years old have used a mobile device for entertainment.
Children using gadgets and exploring the internet can be a great educational experience. However, the digital world could also be a scary place for them and for other family members.
As their parents and guardians, it’s our responsibility to be aware of what our children and family members are doing not only in life but also on the internet. That’s why you need to know how to Monitor Your Kids’ and Family’s Phones and Computers.
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Google’s Parental Control App
Children can spend too much time plugged into their gadgets, which can lead to health problems. More time spent plugged into their gadget means less time out doing physical activity. Obesity isn’t the only health concern brought on by this phenomenon. Some doctors say that too much screen time can also lead to depression or anxiety.
Google has introduced a parental control app that will help alleviate this problem. It’s called Google Family Link, and it is available from Google Play for Android devices and iTunes for devices with iOS 9.0 or later. If you don’t have a smartphone, Google has a version that works with computers and laptops.
The parental control app helps parents stay in the loop as their kids explore gadgets. You need to create a Google Account for your child that’s like your own. The app helps you set certain digital ground rules for your family. Best of all, it’s free.
A Must Read for Everyone : How do I know if Someone is Hacking My Phone?
Main Features of Google Family Link
Here are some of the features Family Link provides:
- Manage the apps your children can use – You are able to approve or block any app that your child wants to download.
- Keep an eye on screen time – Monitor how much time your children spend on their favorite apps with weekly or monthly activity reports. You can set daily screen time limits to help avoid health issues.
- Set gadget bedtime – You’re able to remotely lock your child’s gadget when it’s time for bed, or time to take a break.
Monitor Family’s Whereabouts, Screen Time
The parental control app FamilyTime monitors your child’s whereabouts, as well as their internet and smartphone activities.
With FamilyTime, you can get daily activity reports with your child’s location history and phone usage, get SOS and panic alerts from your kids, get notified when they are ready to get picked up, and that’s just the start. You can also monitor their call logs, contact lists, the apps they are using and for how long, and soon, you’ll be able to monitor the text and SMS messages they send too.
With the location tracker, you can get detailed history reports of where your child goes, and if there’s a certain place you don’t want them, you can set up geofences to exclude questionable locations and get instant alerts when those borders are breached.
If you’re worried that your kids spend too much time on their gadget, you can remotely lock their phone, keeping them from using it.
FamilyTime comes with a free 3-day trial, and then its fees range, depending on how many devices.
See Also: Is YouTube Kids Safe for Children?
How to Install Family Time App on Android and iOS Devices?
Apple: Download the FamilyTime app on the parent’s device. Next, install the FamilyTime Jr. on the child’s iPhone or iPad. You’ll have to give permission for the apps to connect to each other, then you can create the account using the activation codes you got when you created the master parent account.
Android: The process for Android users is a little bit different. To begin, you’ll want to install the FamilyTime app on the parent’s phone. Once you’ve downloaded the app and created an account, then you’ll go onto your child’s gadget and go to http://download.familytime.io from inside a web browser. Use your activation credentials to get access to the app to download to your child’s gadget. Install the app and give all the permissions.
Monitor Your Children’s’ Social Media Accounts (and More)
The MamaBear Family Safety app will let you keep in close contact with your kids while they’re out with friends. It also monitors your child’s social media accounts so you can be alerted to online dangers as well.
How to Get Started with MamaBear Family Safety App?
To get started with the MamaBear Family Safety app, a parent will need to install it on their smartphone and register your family’s account.
Next, you will need to add family members and set a family password. Then, when adding your children, you will need their various social media logins to connect you to their social interactions.
Here are additional app features:
- Set up notifications to receive need-to-know content like new friends, restricted words on your customized words list, uploaded photos and tags.
- Know your child’s current and recent location.
- Set up custom Safe Places, like home, school and sports practices with automatic arrival and departure notifications.
- Receive automatic notifications about your child’s game times, snack duties and coach’s messages from your TeamSnap account built in the MamaBear app.
- Find out when your child has exceeded a customized driving speed whether they are driving or a passenger of someone else.
- On the social media side, parents can monitor Instagram photos and Tweets in one place. This section of the app will also tell you details about their Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr followers. You can see new friends being added, as well as set up alerts for keywords. For example, you can know if your child posts questionable language.
The free version of the app is ad-supported. Ad-free versions (prices are always subject to change, so check the developer’s website). Find the app in Google Play and iTunes.
