A Parent’s Guide to Parental Controls
Parental controls are a must have for families who want their children to roam safely on the internet. Are you having a new broadband connection installed? Wondering if parental controls actually work? Or maybe just weighing up your options? If these questions hold any relevance then this guide is a must read for you.
Do I Need Parental Controls?
It is in the nature of all children to want to disobey their parents, so if you’ve had a chat with them about the websites they need to stay away from, there’s a good chance they’re off doing exactly what you told them not to do.
Parental controls allow you to take control of your children’s wellbeing while browsing the internet, keeping their searches safe, fun and productive.
These security measures are best used openly and in cooperation with both parent and child.
What are the Best Parental Controls For:
Blocking Websites: Limiting your children to certain searches is a simple process and is best achieved through Google SafeSearch. To enable this feature, you need to make sure your browsers use Google as their default search engine, then you need to enable the SafeSearch program. This security measure should be taken before your chidden start to use the internet so that you can prevent them from encountering heinous things online.
Blocking websites, filtering content, imposing time limits, seeing what my children are looking at online: If you’re looking for a more well-rounded security measure, third-party parental controls such as Bark and NetNanny will give you so much more control over your child’s devices over the likes of BT Broadband parental controls for example. These measures can be pretty expensive but a top quality security feature comes at a price. These controls can only track the accounts that aren’t password protected, if a site is password protected, you will need to retrieve it from whoever has set it.
Knowing my child’s location: Keeping track of your children is made easy by using GPS trackers such as Find My Friends and FamiSafe. With apps like these, you can stay on top of your children’s whereabouts and always know if they are safe.
Monitoring mobile devices: If you want to keep a close eye on your child’s phone or tablet, you can download an app to monitor text messages, social networks, emails amongst other functions.
They are great for easing concerns about any unsolicited conversations or subjects that your kid might be delving into.
Bark is great for managing these concerns. With Bark you can receive notifications when certain alerts are raised. Drugs or sex for example. If you want to implement this into their social media profiles, you will need the relevant information to access the profile.
Should I Worry About Parental Controls Being Disabled?
In some cases, families have had their parental controls disabled by, you guessed it, the children. The directions on how to break down parental measures are easily available on the internet. You should start to notice a lack of parental notifications coming through, or content that you’ve blocked is still getting through. If this is the case, it is likely that your parental controls have been overridden.
If your child has managed to bypass your security measures, it’s time for some good old fashioned parenting about who pays the WiFi bill.
