Why is parental control important?

The internet has become an indispensable part of human culture. As a parent, it’s almost futile to try to keep your kids away from its ubiquitous grasp. You, however, have the power to facilitate your kids’ exposure to the web.

Digital freedom is indeed something that everyone deserves. But what about in the hands of kids? The discussion is infantile and where there is still a general lack of laws as to how to mediate this relatively modern dilemma, parents are left on their own to determine how they can facilitate raising children with a culture of normality while keeping them away from the negative effects of digital infamy.

This strengthens the argument for parental control software, the core of which, advocates for:

Cyber Safety

Cybercriminals feed on the poor cyber habits of not-so-careful internet users, a large portion of which are children. It’s not unknown for victims of cyberbullying to commit self-harm. Risky online challenges sometimes result in death. This is not something you’d want your child to be exposed to.

By exercising Parental Control, you can block sites with inappropriate content to avoid premature exposure and even designate rules about the use of social media.

Mitigating Digital Addiction

Excessive screen time causes bad posture, poor eyesight, and chronic lack of sleep. Even worse, it can cause digital addiction in the long term.

It’s your responsibility as a parent to set up home rules that would prevent excessive use of technology. Talk to your children about why you’re setting up these rules. Organize family activities that will help them create meaningful experiences beyond their lives online.

Online Activity Monitoring

Innocent online users who don’t know the inherent reach of their online habits are prone to committing grave mistakes on the web — like posting stuff they shouldn’t be. These seemingly innocuous habits can render them vulnerable to malevolent cybercriminals.

If you don’t have the temporal surplus to monitor your child’s digital moves in real time, at least configure the settings so you can control who sees posts and filter what needs to remain undisclosed.

Tracking Location

Monitoring your children’s whereabouts is one of the most practical uses of internet tech. Most of these apps or software are embedded with a Global Positioning System (GPS) to precisely track the location of a device. Some also monitor phone usage like text messages, YouTube usage, emails, and social networks and send these reports to parents.

Identifying Behavioral Problem Areas

Are your kids purchasing shady items? Are they browsing sites they shouldn’t be? Spending the whole day on Facebook?

Your child’s internet usage says a lot about problems that may need immediate real-world intervention. If your child seems to be acting strange and violent, it may be a sign that he/ she is involved in the buy-and-sell of substances online. In case you feel that’s the case, you can purchase ecstasy test kits. If it does turn positive, talk with your child and get professional help. Remember to cultivate a culture of open communication even if the situation is rough. Without it, everything else will just be mindless policing.

As if parenting in itself is not already hard enough, parenting in the digital age confers even more challenges that every parent must keep up with. Parental control is a tool that can at least help you make the job easier.

Be aware!