The Age of Digital Parenting: 4 Online Tools to Assist Parents

Whether we like it or not, we are living in a digital age. The world doesn’t look the same way it did 20 years ago. Teenagers and even younger kids spend large portions of their days surfing the web and posting on social media platforms. It’s imperative to have frequent conversations with your kids about digital safety at all stages of their childhood — but then what? How can you help keep them safe online, especially when you aren’t around to supervise them?

Many parents wonder where to turn to for advice when their generation never had to deal with the problems and challenges children are grappling with today. Thankfully, there are several online tools and apps that parents can use to keep their children digitally safe. And while technology can seem like a constant threat through the eyes of a parent, there are also ways that you can use it to your benefit. 

1. Online Tutoring Platforms

One way to take advantage of technology is to utilize online tutoring platforms. In the last few years, an increasing number of online tutoring platforms have popped up. This means you don’t need to be limited by your location and rather than scrambling to find a tutor in your hometown, you can save yourself the headache and the commute by participating in tutoring from wherever you are.

These platforms utilize sophisticated online tools to help make their tutoring process as efficient and effective as possible. For example, some have virtual classrooms that use interactive whiteboards, which allows tutors and students to collaborate on anything from math problems to writing samples. You can also easily record lessons, so students can refer back to them whenever they need a refresher on a certain subject. Overall, online tutoring is one of the ways to better utilize technology in your daily life

2. Social Media Monitoring Apps

As most parents already know, social media apps are the ultimate time suck. According to a survey conducted by Common Sense Media in 2019, kids and teens spent an average of five to seven and half hours on social media every day. That same survey discovered that kids between 12-15 years old spending more than three hours a day on social media were at a higher risk of poor mental health. 

If your child is spending an unhealthy amount of time on any social media app, there are monitoring apps that have features such as screen time management and web filtering tools that help you set healthy limits around how and when your kids use their devices. There are additional safety features, like interaction monitoring, which tracks conversations and content so you know how your child is interacting with people and content on the web and flags any concerning content or messages.

3. Blocking Adult Content

In this vast world of the wide wide web, it’s easy for young children to stumble across something they shouldn’t. Many parents, particularly ones with younger kids, want to prevent their children from accessing inappropriate websites. That’s where the adult content blockers come in. These apps are similar to social media monitoring apps, only they help concerned parents prevent their children from accessing adult-oriented websites.

How do adult content blocking apps work? When a child attempts to access a website, the apps will compare the site to your parental settings and determine whether to block or allow the user access. While no app is 100% foolproof, there are some that do a great job of protecting kids from sites that might not be appropriate for them. Aside from automatically blocking content from your child, it’s also important to talk about the importance of online safety.

4. Online Activity Trackers

From cyberbullying to online predators, the internet has no shortage of potential threats and dangers to your children. If you are worried that your child has been on the tail end of toxic behavior or simply want to take cautionary measures, strongly consider opting for an online activity tracker.

Such apps create logs of your child’s activities online, making it easy to ensure that no cyberbully, stalker, or online predator is harassing or verbally abusing your child. It will give you a clear and immediate idea of who your child is interacting with on a daily basis, which will allow you to act promptly if anything seems amiss. Aside from monitoring your child’s web content, some of these apps also have functions that block inappropriate content from your child’s computer and phone and allow you to schedule when your child can be online.

Using the Internet Safely

The internet can be a scary place for parents, but it doesn’t have to be as scary—and kids can learn a lot from online resources! These helpful and easy-to-use apps will not only improve your day-to-day life but also your child’s — even if they don’t realize it. 

The best part about many of these apps is that many of them are one-stop-shops when it comes to digital safety. Apps that help encourage your child to put down their phone and go outside, also have the ability to block inappropriate websites and keep an eye out for cyberbullying. With so many digital safety apps on the market, you have the option to sit down with your child and discuss which one is right for both of you.