While you might not want to be a “helicopter parent”, it’s still a good idea to set up some parental controls on your child’s smartphone, laptop, tablet, etc. The great thing about some parental control apps is that they allow you to create an individual profile for each child. For younger kids, you can put security measures in place to prevent them from seeing inappropriate content. For teens, you can take advantage of “limit screen time” tools that allow you to turn off their smartphone or laptop when they should be doing homework or eating at the dinner table.
Some parents are primarily concerned about who their kids are texting with and talking to on social media. This is another benefit of some parental control apps. With kids doing the majority of their communicating through texting, it’s important to have a tool that helps monitor it all. You can be alerted whenever your child gets a new contact. If it’s a person you don’t know, or there is something about them that doesn’t seem right, you should be given the option to block messages from that contact, or even block the messenger program altogether.
Depending on the parental control program you choose, you might even be able to read the text messages themselves. While some parents don’t like the idea of snooping too much into their child’s privacy – especially teens – it might be good to have that feature if you ever suspect that your child is in contact with somebody who could potentially be dangerous.
Emergencies Can Be Handled With Parental Control Apps
If there IS ever an emergency, you might be able to track your kid’s location, as some parental control apps offer some type of location tracking. Put a “Panic Button” on his or her phone so that he/she can call for help instantly. This will let you know where they are at and if there is a potentially dangerous situation going on. An additional feature some programs offer is a log that you can view to see where your child has been earlier in the day.
Balancing screen time is very important for some parents because they feel that their children spend way too much time looking at the screen. As mentioned above, you can use screen time limiting tools to help teach your child time management. Try to encourage him or her to do something more productive instead of staring at the phone or laptop all day.
The top parental control apps that offer all of these essential features and tools aren’t free, but that doesn’t mean they have to cost a lot of money. With Qustodio discounts, for instance, you can get everything you need at an affordable price. There are different solutions available for Families, Schools, and Businesses.
Get a Qustodio Premium Plan deal by using a coupon or promo code. It’s by far one of the best and cheapest parental control apps. Reviews are overwhelmingly positive and Qustodio works on all devices and OS, including Kindle.