School is about to start, and with that comes pressure from kids to be online. You already know about some of the risks children face when they have access to the online world. From cyberbullying to predators to kids posting things they shouldn’t, it’s an entirely different world for kids (and parents) to navigate.
But, it doesn’t have to be.
Fortunately, you can learn how to teach your kids how to be digital citizens and stay out of trouble and safe online. We think you should educate first, then protect with monitoring them after they have the skills and education they need with our program. Monitoring apps will help give you a leg up on what your children have access to, protect them from dangers, and help keep you informed of what they do online.
3 parental monitoring apps we love
NetNanny
Net Nanny (formerly Zift) is $54.99 a year for the premium version covering five devices (there are other versions which cost more and cover more devices) and, in my opinion, worth every penny. Available for mobile and PC, this parental control software allows for web filtering, as well as blocking apps such as Fortnite, Netflix and Snapchat. It provides a real-time check of pages being visited and determines if it should be blocked based on the content settings. It also allows you to access settings so you can block or get alerted when kids visit anything related to drugs, weapons, mature content and more, giving you a choice to allow them access to the content, alert you to it or block the content. In addition, Net Nanny also offers time management, giving you the option to set usage limits, daily schedules, plus it offers geolocation tracking.
Norton Family Premier
Offering a similar service as Net Nanny, Norton Family Premier also provides text message monitoring for Androids. This app shows you how often your kids log in to Facebook from their PCs, provides personal information protection, a list of YouTube videos your kids watch (and allows you to view a clip), as well as allowing you to instantly lock the device
If you are using an iPhone, Norton isn’t as dynamic. However, if you have an Android, Norton an excellent choice. For $50 a year, you get access to the premium app.
Kapersky Safe Kids
Significantly less than the other parental monitoring apps, Kapersky Safe Kids is only $15 a year, plus its free plan allows for setting time limits, filtering sites and managing apps. The premium version also reports on your child’s public Facebook activity (including new friends and posts), provides a GPS tracker (including outlining a safe area for your kid and alerting you should they leave that area), alerts you to when their device’s battery is running low and also shares expert advice and tips from psychologists regarding online topics. If you are using an iOS operating system, it doesn’t allow monitoring of texts or calls. Kids aren’t on Facebook as much, so make sure you check to see if they are monitoring the apps your kids are on.
Want to learn more about how to make sure your kids are safe online? Take our free webinar today and sign up for a trial.
