Parents have a hard time keeping their teens off the internet and quite frankly, it just isn’t possible anymore. Almost every single activity that youngsters want to do has to be done through online access. However, this doesn’t mean that you should just give up on looking after them, as there are certain measures you can take to keep them away from the dark side of the internet. Since kids mostly use their smartphones and tablets to access the web these days, securing the mobile device in their use is pivotal in shielding them from the negative influence of internet. Let’s consider some of the available options to achieve that.
Parental Controls
Well, this one is pretty much self-explanatory. Since cyber space is plagued by all sort of bad stuff that you obviously don’t want your kids to be viewing, it’s best to use a tool to control what they can and cannot access. Parental control solutions like ShieldMyTeen come equipped with powerful internet filtering tools that allow you to quickly and conveniently identify threats such as porn, drugs, suicide, gambling, etc., and restrict access to all websites falling under such categories. Blocking inappropriate content on your teens’ smartphones and tablets is probably one of the simplest ways to mitigate the risk of internet causing some sort of harm to them.
Monitoring Apps
Filtering the web is just one way of dealing with its pitfalls. You definitely need to take additional measures, and that is where monitoring apps come in. With the ability to keep tabs on your teens’ online activities and delivering the details to you, such solutions make it possible for you to know immediately if your youngsters have been sneaking to pornographic or other inappropriate websites and forums. You can even keep check on their online interactions and intervene if and when the situation asks for it. Before installing a monitoring app on your kids’ device, however, it is important that you take them into confidence and explain to them why such a measure is being taken.
Communication
Having certain tools at your disposal certainly helps, but nothing can be more helpful than having a normal conversation with your children. Communication builds trust which is a necessity nowadays as kids have become reluctant to share their feelings and only talk about things with people they feel comfortable around. Knowing that, it is advised that you build a similar kind of relationship with your kids so that they are able to share each and everything with you without any hesitation. After building a friendly relationship with your kids, you should then teach them to keep their privacy private even on the social networking platforms. Furthermore, you should explain why pornography, drugs, and alcohol are bad for them, especially in their teens. In this day and age when face to face communication is close to non-existent, it is extremely necessary that you keep in touch with your children.
