Free And For Me

How To Monitor My Child’s Internet Activity

Times have definitely changed and I am desperately trying to keep up in this digital age.  I was excited to learn about online parental controls for Sprint users.

While raising my children I am faced with some of the concerns my parents may have had when I was growing up.  There were very few digital products with limited access.  My children are 11 years apart, so the concerns I had with my now adult daughter differ from the concerns I have with my 9-year-old son.  The digital age is growing rapidly and I am trying to keep my eyes and ears open.  Basically, I cannot be naive about what my 9 year has access to.

Last week, I attended a Sprint event.  As I sat and listened to Tshaka Armstrong, of Digital Shepards, he touched on things I was aware of, but there were many things I was unaware of.   Yes, I have fears of my son watching the wrong thing, being in contact with the wrong people, etc.  but I needed to hear and watch Tshaka’s presentation.

My son received a tablet last year.  I have not set it up with parental controls, but he does not have access to the internet.  After hearing Tshaka’s presentation.  I now know, I can set up parental controls on all devices.

I am monitoring what my son is viewing and we are having uncomfortable conversations.  My son is a good child, but there is so much available to him either online or being in contact with his friends face to face. If there is something he is not aware of, trust me there is always that one child that knows a little more.  Tshaka and his wife touched on this subject as well.    They have experienced it first hand.   They have allowed a child that had a little more knowledge than their children to spend time with their family, whenever the child came to visit they allowed him as long as he followed the rules of their home.  We have to understand that our children are going to be exposed to many things either through their own curiosity or through friends.

Aside from having a tablet, my son has been asking for a cell phone.  I have been on the fence about giving him one.  We are now testing the waters with the Sharp Aquos phone I received at the event.   So far he is just using it to play games, call and text me or call and texting his sister.  As he begins to use it more often I am confident knowing I am armed with the wealth of information I received from Tshaka.  I also learned that Sprint has Sprint Mobile Controls.

·         Sprint Mobile Controls https://mobilecontrols.sprint.com 

Mobile controls will come in handy after my son has been using the phone for a while.  Since he is not doing too much, I have not created an account.

Yes,  I have concerns about my son using his devices.  But, I am still concerned about my daughter although she is a young adult.  She is a pretty safe driver, but I have always I wished she did not have access to her phone while driving.  I have suggested she put in the trunk.  Of course, she has not done so.  She claims she needs it for music and mapping.  Well, I have a solution.  While at the event, I learned about Sprint Drive First.

·         Sprint Drive First https://drivefirst.sprint.com 

When I told her about it she was excited.  Now she just needs to download the app.

·         Sprint Family Locator

Below, you will find other resourceful links.

      Sprint Internet Privacy Site
·         Sprint Resource: Safety4Net, comprehensive toolkit for parents about smartphones & children, cyberbullying, sexting and other hot topics.

·         Sprint Resource: How you can protect your privacy
http://goodworks.sprint.com/people/customers/privacy/how-you-can-protect-your-privacy/
·         Sprint Resource: A Parent’s Guide to Mobile Phones

http://www.sprint.com/4netsafety/pdf/140512_CS_Mobile_Guide_Full_Version_English.pdf

Please do not be naive, it is difficult to parent in a digital age, but it can be done.