What would you say after learning that your child spends on average 9 hours per day on their smartphones?
When asking parents what kind of dangers can their kids encounter online, most answer adult content and in-app purchases. Unfortunately, the internet hosts much more than that.
Online dangers threaten a child’s safety
As a parent, you would definitely close the door on an abuser and report the police about the danger. However, they might be coming online. Every single time when your child visits social media and befriends a cute stranger who insists on meeting in person, there is a chance to hit an online predator.
There are 750 000 registered child predators only in the USA. Coby Persin, a famous YouTube blogger, has recently released a new social experiment about them.
He practically proved that a simple talk or warning doesn’t work. Kids still agree to meet in person with strangers they have met online. In the video, the journalist created a fake profile on Snapchat to contact three tweens. After three days of chatting they all accepted to meet up. The video is a must-watch because it really shows how online abusers operate on the web.
The other internet dangers you may never thought about are sexting, cyberbullying, suicidal groups, personal information leak and of course violent games and adult content. All of them give a big, fat reason why parents should know what their kids are doing online.
How Kidgy prevents online dangers
To prevent internet dangers, parents should use a parental control app whose primary function is to monitor their kid’s online activity. So does the Kidgy parental control software. The application is designed for parents to check remotely on their child’s online activity as well as track their current GPS location. A quick overview of Kidgy features:
Manage internet activity
Parents can be fully aware of the sites their minor visits. There are anonymous messaging sites like Ask.fm or CuriousCat.me which often trench with cyberbullying and sexting. Also, dating sites look attractive to abusers fishing for teens. And of course blocking adult, gambling, shopping sites is a must.
Manage apps’ usage
Parents can view and block installed applications on the child’s device remotely. It works best to block applications for bed or school time. It basically brings back the child to family dinners and increases school performance. Also, there are many apps that promote violence, adult content, and sexting. Chatting apps like WhatsApp, Snapсhat, Facebook, and Instagram are the most popular.
Track the current GPS location
In the USA 800 000 children disappear annually —or about 2 000 a day. Since 18% of teens agree on meeting in person after befriending a stranger on Facebook, this feature comes in handy for all parents.
The child’s exact location is visible on the parent’s device anytime. You don’t have to call or text annoying your child with questions. The GPS location tracker provides real-time whereabouts of a kid with time stamps.
View call logs and text messages
If the communication with an online friend proceeded to offline, this is the right time to monitor call logs and text messages. Besides viewing them, you can find a person in a phone book and block the contact to protect your child from unhealthy relationships.
Put geo-fences around safe and dangerous zones
This feature allows you to map out areas you think would be safe for your child (like grandma’s place, school, recreation center). Once they are crossed, you will get informed immediately with the exact position of a child. Parents can keep a peace of mind meanwhile being sure their child is in a safe zone.
Make kids use a panic button
This feature is designed for the child’s self-service. In case a kid wants to let you know they need help or got into trouble, they can click it. You’ll be immediately notified about the child’s present place with time stamps.
Kidgy developers also added a Daily Schedule Planner for busy parents to assign home chores online. From now on, they can set tasks remotely and follow the child’s progress.
The app is available on App Store and Google Play. The app is free with a limited set of features and an upgrade paid option.
The Internet may turn into a hostile environment if parents do not take care of the child’s online protection. In order to prevent and defend your child, knowing what they are doing online is a must as well as using an effective parental control app like Kidgy.
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