For a long time, parental controls were simply seen as a nuisance or something ineffective. Parents had to do an extra setup on devices that were already frustrating or difficult to use and to top it off, the kids were tech-savvy enough to find ways around these controls thereby rendering them useless. However, just like technology continued to advance, so did parental controls. Now, they are quite easy to set up and have become crucial for parents as a means of controlling their child not only for limiting their time on the internet but also for keeping track of what they do.
Listed below are just some of the reasons why parental controls have become so important nowadays:
Monitoring your children can identify problem areas
Whether you use monitoring software such as iKeyMonitor for tracking your kids’ purchases, location history, browsing history or the purchases they make on their phones or not, it is important to know what your children are up to. Why? This can be immensely helpful for parents as they are able to identify why certain problems may have surfaced in their behavior. For instance, if they are spending too much time playing video games, it could be the reason why their grades are suffering in school.
Furthermore, monitoring their messages and online conversations also aids parents in identifying any cases of cyberbullying. You don’t want your child to feel threatened and prevention is the key in such cases. Thus, with monitoring, you can get a better idea of the situation and take the right steps to mitigate it.
Parental monitoring keeps computers and devices safe
Kids are more vulnerable and gullible as compared to adults due to which they are the prime targets of cyber-criminals and hackers. This is mostly because kids are more likely to download programs that look legitimate, but are actually viruses that can infect your devices and steal your confidential and sensitive information. The beauty of parental controls is that it allows parents to limit the kind of downloads in order to keep all devices safe from viruses and malware. Even if one device is infected, it could spread to every other device on the network.
Parental controls keep children safe on the internet
It has become a common practice amongst parents to restrict the type of content that can be viewed by the kids when they are using the internet. For instance, you may want to blacklist certain websites and block specific search terms to prevent your children from stumbling onto them unknowingly. While some might view this as a lack of freedom because there are parents who become overzealous, but it is crucial for parents to shield their child from certain content because they don’t want them influenced from a young age. When you remove the restrictions is totally dependent on the parents.
Parental monitoring allows you to restrict online time
It is common practice to get so lost when you are browsing the internet that you lose track of time. If adults can do it, so can the kids. Thus, parental control is an excellent way for parents to restrict the time their child can spend on the internet. The monitoring software available these days enable you to set times during which your kids will be able to access the internet. Once the time is past, their access will be cut off automatically. In this way, parents can also ensure that kids are not using the internet when they are in their room, pretending to study or sleep.
In a nutshell, with parental controls, you can keep your child safe from identity theft, bullying and numerous other online risks.
Waqar Hassan is a Blogger, Author and Entrepreneur who heads an IT & Web Company. He loves writing and manages several blogs including https://menaentrepreneur.org and https://www.migratemusicnews.com. Waqar Hassan is one of the top Freelancers in the SEO and Digital Marketing Industries. He can be contacted at http://www.waqarhassan.con OR via [email protected].
