Hey Everyone!
It's hard to believe we're at the start of another Holiday Season. If you’re a parent who is thinking of purchasing a new Apple or Android smartphone or tablet, then you probably want to set up parental controls and content filtering on the device, to prevent your child from being exposed to undesirable content on the Internet. Smart devices make great gifts, but there are things on the Internet that I'm sure you don't want your kids to see. There are many web sites promoting violence, hate, and pornography. There is also the threat of online predators and cyber bullies. You can't supervise every moment that they're surfing the Web, but with the help of parental control devices, you can filter out unwanted content, limit screen time, and in some cases monitor social media accounts. Before you get your kid a smart device for the holidays, consider these devices:
Kurio Brand of Products. From tablets to smartphones to smartwatches, Kurio has you covered with devices that offer your kids the flexibility to play games, watch video, make their own movies and create documents with Microsoft Office. Parents get the peace of mind with Kurio products because these devices have built in parental controls that allow you to control what apps your kids use and what places they visit on the Internet. Our boys have Kurio tablets and they enjoy them.
Kindle Fire Kids Addition. Everyone loves Kindle Fire and now Amazon has it's Kid's addition Fire. The latest version of the Fire promises robust parental controls while still offering your kids the flexibility to download the hottest apps. The tablet comes with a protective case that keeps it safe if your child drops it. Amazon also offers 2 worry free guarantee. Your kid damages the tablet, they will replace it for free.
Circle with Disney. Circle easily connects to your home wi-fi and allows you to control all of your kid's connected devices. Once it's installed, you can limit screen time, filter content, and set a bedtime for every device in the home. The accompanying app, allows you an create unique profiles for each of your children.
TeenSafe. The app made by parents for parents. TeenSafe offers comprehensive coverage for your kids devices allowing you to monitor such things such as social media interactions, phone messages, text messages and even their location. If your teen gets out of line and isn't using their phone or tablet appropriately, you can block everything except basic features.
Check Your Devices Settings
If you don't want to shell out extra money for child safe devices or for parental control apps, you can manually modify your smart devices to keep your kids safe.
Android Parental Controls:
Android devices allow you to set up restricted profiles to limit what content your kids can access. To set up one, do the following: First, open the Settings menu of your device, then Scroll down and tap “Users", then tap 'Add a restricted user profile', next name the profile., finally select apps to enable for the profile, finally,
iOS Parental Controls:
You can use restrictions as parental control on iOS devices. To set up Restrictions on your iPhone, touch "Settings," choose "General," and then select "Restrictions." You'll be prompted for a PIN that gives you access to enable or disable "Restrictions." There you can turn off any features you want -- for example, Siri. Then scroll down to the section "Allowed Content." This is the place to choose individual limits on what types of content can be downloaded
Parents, apps and technology can protect your kids from a lot of the harmful stuff out there, but parental control can't catch everything. You ultimately have to be the one who makes sure they are staying safe on the Internet. The biggest threat on the Internet today is parents that do not get involved in their children's use of technology. Put your hands on your kids devices to verify they are being responsible with them. Never allow devices to stay in kids rooms overnight and put limits on daily technology use. 30 mins a day is the recommended use.
How else can you keep up with the latest tech tips and cyber security alerts? Subscribe to my YouTube channel ‘Burton Kelso’ There are hundreds of videos designed to help you get the most out of the technology you use in your home or business.
Burton Kelso is the Chief Tech Expert at Integral. They offer tech support to homes and businesses all over the Kansas City Metro. He regularly appears as a guest tech correspondent on ABC, NBC, FOX, and CBS on shows such as Kansas City Live, Better Kansas City, FOX 4 Morning Show, offering viewers easy tips on technology, Internet lifestyle, Internet security and gadgets. You can find Burton on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter and watch great tech tip videos on his YouTube channel. He can be reached at 888-256-0829 or email at burton@integralcomputerconsultants.com