Top 5 Reasons for Having Parental Control System for Your Kids

If you are a parent and still do not use parental control software or apps to monitor and guard your kids, in this article we will give you 5 reasons for having parental control systems in place. The abyss of internet is dark and full of terrors –this common phrase is known to almost every adult as well as kids. However, there is also the bright side of developing social skills, increasing the boundaries of knowledge and keeping you relaxed or entertained in leisure time. So why not utilize this powerful media properly so that both you and your innocent little ones can make the best use of it?

If you are still not sure after reading the article below you can check out our best free parental control apps section with apps that offer a free version with no commitment at the beginning. This will allow you to test for your self and see if parental control is something that works for you.

What are Parental Controls?

Parental controls refer to apps or software that you can download online. It is available either as a free or paid version. The latter offers premium features, making it worth the price. You will download kids parental control app on your phone and on the gadget that you wish to monitor. On the monitored gadget, the application will be hidden, so kids will not know that their activities are being monitored. Once installed, you can now start monitoring your child’s phone remotely. You can spy on your kids for your peace of mind.

Why Should You Consider Using Parental Control System for Your Kids

As parents, we want nothing but the best for our children. We want to keep them safe. And this is precisely the reason why a parental control app is a must-have. It shields kids from the toxicity of the online world. It will protect kids on internet them from cybercriminals who know no boundaries when choosing their victims. With the right parental control software, you can also limit the screen time and social media use of children. It teaches them to be disciplined and they will learn that there is life outside of their gadgets. They won’t end up glued on their phones the entire day.

Here are 5 Reasons Why You Should Use Parental Control

1. Adult Content

According to a journal posted by Fox news in 2007, that is more than ten years ago, around 42% kids were reported to watch adult contents or pornographic images online. Obviously the percentage has increased over the years as kids these days are quite advanced. Besides, many kids accidentally stumble upon these contents flashed on various websites even if they don’t want to watch them.

If you'd like to block such content or related activity, then you'd be glad to know that Aura offers this feature.

A parental control not only helps you send some particular websites into block-list, but also helps you change the website viewing settings to filter the results according to their age settings, you read further our guide on how to how to block porn on any device but in general if you have installed a parental control app you can require a password every time someone trying to access any website which is not age-appropriate.

Moreover, the "smart search" option also helps strategic filtering of educational contents like drug addiction or breast cancer these topics are not hidden but any illicit contents regarding those subjects are.

2. Cyber Bullies And Cyber Predators

While classroom bullying was common in your generation, kids of this generation are victims of cyber bullying. Kids having their own social media accounts are more prone to being bullied by not only their acquaintances but also people outside their boundary. Besides, watching or hearing something related to bullying although indirectly, but affects them the same.

Cyber predators are other obnoxious weeds trying to entangle your kids into explicit conversations regarding sexuality, drug addiction, illegal gambling, extortion and even terrorism. As the tender minds of kids and teens are easily influenced, this for us at least is one of the main reasons for having parental control system for your kids and why you should install parental control programs that can monitor the conversation with any person and notify you when the conversation is dangerous. Monitoring this side of what your kids are doing online can really save lives as research states that cyberbullying is one of the top reasons teenagers commit suicide.

3. Too Much Time Spent On Internet

With an array of videos, movies, tv shows, cartoons and images, your children would naturally spend more and more time being glued to PC, Laptop or Mobile than with physical surroundings. Too much addiction means inattentiveness, lack of physical activity and so on.

Bark incorporates a feature empowering parents to regulate screen time effectively. This includes the ability to schedule internet downtime, establish bedtime routines during weekdays in preparation for school, and even allocate increased screen time during weekends as per discretion.

As you cannot always be there to prevent them, so it is better to set a time limit for browsing or limiting screen time with parental control. While on PC or laptop, you can do so without any parental control software, regarding that the operating systems like Windows Vista and newer versions and Mac have their in-built parental control system.

Besides, you can always keep track of their activity online from browsing history, the software they are using etc. and control the usage accordingly.

4. In-App Purchases

Kids in this tech-era hardly need time to learn operating any software or downloading files and in many cases you feel proud seeing them downloading something all by themselves. Have you ever considered this “excellence” might prompt them to download a game file from the app store on your mobile or worse, from a malicious website?

With a parental control on specific spam websites and on your phone app store, your kids will no longer have access to such alluring yet harmful websites showing messages like:

In addition, you can use password protection for app stores to prevent downloading any file without your permission.

5. Negative Cyber Reputation

Yes, kids and teens use social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, etc. and just like you do, they also post, share, like or comment on various posts. Enlighten your kids about what cyber reputation is and how they can maintain it by deterring from posting inappropriate contents. The task doesn’t end there as you cannot bind their activity; but you can always keep track of their activity online, check their privacy and security settings.

Even if your kids do not have their own account, prevent them from using your profile to post something unacceptable that can ruin your reputation. Thanks to parental controls for both mobile and computer, you can bar their access to your profile with a password.

A good parenting comes with the responsibility of teaching your kids about both the bright and dark sides of technical gadgets and internet. Stay ahead with putting parental controls that will help you keeping a track of their activities while letting you stop them from doing something reckless.

Limit Online Gaming

Online games can be entertaining. It is a great way to let time pass and have a break from studying. However, kids can often abuse online games. They might end up dedicating more time necessary that what they are supposed to. At the end of the day, they might not be able to do more important things, such as studying.

A parental control app can help limit online gaming. You can block games on their phones or set a predetermined limit. You can also block downloads of games that are deemed unsuitable for the age of the user.

Location Tracking

With parental control software or app, you will know where your kids are in real-time. You can enjoy powerful location management features. In most apps, there is a map with a pin that will point to the exact location of the person being monitored. Location history is also stored so that you can track the whereabouts of your child.

In some apps like mSpy, you can also use a feature called geofencing. Here, you will save a set of places where your kids are not allowed to go. Once the app detects that your child is in a restricted location, you will receive an immediate alert.

Reduce Health Hazards

Earlier, we have talked about how you can use parental control apps to limit the time kids spend online. That benefit is related to the reduction of health hazards. In our article, should parents limit screen time during COVID-19, we detailed some of the health effects that happen when kids spend too much time in front of their screens.

Intense arousal, sleep disorders and increased anxiety are some of the main effects of increased screen time but also kids become inactive and stop doing sports. They will end up being in the couch or bed the whole day with their phones or laptops and lack of physical activity can result in obesity and other serious health problems.

Data Backup

This is a feature that you won’t find in most parental control apps is not one of the main reasons for having parental control, but you should consider this if you need some extra online data storage. With some apps, you can back up data, including contacts, pictures, and videos that are stored in the phone. They will be saved on the cloud, which is a great way to prevent precious memories from being wiped down. Phones and computers can be infiltrated by viruses and cybercriminals. In an instant, this can delete all important files, so it is important to have data backup for peace of mind.

Final Thoughts

So if all the above is not enough reasons for having parental control you maybe a more selfish approach will help convince parents to put parental controls on their kids device. Peace of mind is one thing that can sum up everything that has been mentioned above. You can be confident knowing that you have a powerful tool that helps to protect kids on the internet. Even if you are not around your children most of the time, with the right system in place, you don’t have to worry, as you will get detailed reports on everything your kids are doing online, what messages they send and to whom in addition to various options of geo fencing to monitor their whereabouts and control screen time limitations.

What are you waiting for? Now is the time to download parental control Android and iPhone, depending on the operating system of the phones you will be tracking